The New York Knicks made a major change to its front office earlier this week when the organization opted to part ways with Steve Mills, its president of basketball operations. There was a rumor that the team would become the latest franchise at Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri, but instead, it appears they are going to go in a different direction.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Knicks are going to take a page out of the Golden State Warriors’ and Los Angeles Lakers’ playbooks and hiring an agent to take over basketball operations. The pair bring word that New York has identified longtime agent Leon Rose of CAA to lead the front office into the future.
Reporting with @RamonaShelburne: CAA player agent Leon Rose has emerged as a top target to run the New York Knicks basketball operations, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1225441741328830464
The Knicks plan to make CAA player agent Leon Rose the franchise's next President, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Charania noted that Rose will bring CAA’s William Wesley, affectionately known in the basketball world as “World Wide Wes,” with him as part of the front office structure.
Knicks have begun finalizing plans to bring Rose and William Wesley into potential basketball ops. structure, sources say. https://t.co/YxO3xVtDnL
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2020
Wojnarowski also pointed out the absolutely loaded roster of talent represented by Rose, which includes youngsters like Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s also represented LeBron James in the past, and is the agent who reps Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.
Knicks adopting a model that has gained popularity w/ the successes of Bob Myers (Warriors) and Rob Pelinka (Lakers). Rose has been one of the top agents in basketball for years, w/ clients including Joel Embiid, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Carmelo Anthony. https://t.co/ONrcIu9k2U
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Rose will walk into a pretty tricky situation, as the Knicks are still led by interim head coach Mike Miller and has a roster with a few intriguing youngsters and a whole lot of veterans who don’t really fit the timeline of a rebuild, which the team could use right now. But we’ve seen with the Lakers and the Warriors that this kind of front office can work, and even if fixing the Knicks is a tougher task than either of those, at this point, trying something new isn’t the worst idea in the world.
