The New York Knicks are trying to change things up in their organization. This applies to the front office, as the team replaced former president of basketball operations Steve Mills with superagent Leon Rose recently (although not yet officially), and as a brand. New York recently retained the services of Steve Stoute, a marketing guru and former record label executive who has advised the Brooklyn Nets in the past.
This has involved a media blitz for Stoute, who was profiled in the New York Times earlier this week. On Tuesday, one of his media cameos involved heading to the First Take desk, where he said the following.
"Toronto Raptors brought in Drake … the New York Knicks brought in me."
Steve Stoute talks about rebranding the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/vFSdUwVqEj
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 11, 2020
Steve Stoute says he wasn't responsible for Knicks firing Steve Mills as team president.
"But there had to be a change. So there is a change. That change will bring a new coach and new coaches that are going to help develop these younger players. They got some young superstars." pic.twitter.com/6jB25C8w4v— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) February 11, 2020
It’s quite the statement to make, especially because it can certainly come off like the Knicks brought a marketing expert on board and is giving him some say in matters that go beyond the scope of, like, “let’s put our logo on some stuff and cut some cool ads,” something that Marc Stein of the New York Times pointed out on Twitter.
Lengthy appearance today on @FirstTake from the Knicks' new rebranding consultant Steve Stoute. He called himself a "branding guru" and a "marketing guru" and is a well-known entertainment figure in NBA circles … but the Knicks first and foremost need a TEAM-BUILDING guru
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2020
Stoute acknowledged he will have "a loud voice" with the Knicks going forward. Longtime player agent Leon Rose arrives soon as team president. A largely new brain trust … but can it actually get better results? Skepticism will prevail given the lack of team-building experience
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2020
But because this is the Knicks we’re talking about here, the team responded to all of this by putting out a press release, which included a quote from Stoute apologizing for insinuating something “in my excitement to defend the Knicks on live TV.”
Statements from the New York Knicks and Steve Stoute pic.twitter.com/jDN07qHllO
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) February 11, 2020
This is not the first time the Knicks have put out a statement regarding something someone said on television recently, as the team tweeted out in November that they did not offer Richard Jefferson a contract in 2018 or 2019, in response to a joke Jefferson made on a Nets broadcast.
