Kevin Durant’s manager, Rich Kleiman, is reportedly a potential candidate to take over as team president of the New York Knicks.
Well, the New York Knicks‘ search for a new team president is likely to have some twists and turns. Following the departure of Steve Mills, Marc Berman of the New York Post is reporting that some believe Rich Kleiman is going to be in the mix.
“With owner James Dolan looking at making various agents as potential presidential candidates, don’t sleep on Kevin Durant’s man, Rich Kleiman, according to NBA sources,” Berman wrote.
Kleiman is Durant’s manager and a longtime Knicks fan. Oddly enough, back in February of 2018, Kleiman predicted that he would be running the Knicks one day.
Imma run the Knicks one day
— Ace (@richkleiman) February 21, 2018
This would be a groundbreaking move from James Dolan‘s Knicks, but it would be similar to the trail blazed by teams like the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne are reporting that the Knicks are considering going the same route by signing a president who previously worked as a player agent.
The Knicks would not be the first New York team to follow this strategy either. The New York Mets hired player agent Brodie Van Wagenen to take over as the team’s general manager in October of 2018.
For the time being, general manager Scott Perry will carry the Knicks through the trade deadline according to the team. Wojnarowski is reporting that Mills was on the phone discussing possible trades on Monday and one point of contention between Mills and ownership was the decision to keep Marcus Morris Sr. past the trade deadline.
