In a shocking move just days before the trade deadline, the New York Knicks are parting ways with team president Steve Mills.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Steve Mills and the New York Knicks are parting ways. This report was later confirmed by the Knicks in a statement from the team. Mills is expected to transition to a role on the board of the standalone sports company.
“Steve and I have come to the decision that it would be best for him to leave his role as president of the New York Knicks,” said James L. Dolan, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Madison Square Garden Company. “We thank Steve for his many years of service to our organization and look forward to continuing our relationship with him as part of our board.”
“It has been a great honor to represent the Knicks,” Mr. Mills said, “I will always be grateful to Jim for giving me the chance to represent this franchise and I’m disappointed we were unable to achieve success for New York. I would like to thank the staff and the players for their hard work during my tenure. I will always be a Knicks fan.”
Mills took over as general manager in 2013 and later replaced Phil Jackson as team president in 2017 when the Hall of Famer was let go by the organization. This was Mills’ second stint with the organization.
After Mills re-joined the organization in 2013, the Knicks compiled a record of 178-365 and have failed to make the playoffs in each year. The timing is odd given the fact that the trade deadline is just two days away.
Scott Perry is still in place as general manager and the Knicks say he will take over basketball operations for the time being.
According to Wojnarowski, team owner James Dolan is already moving towards a successor, but the mystery replacement is still unclear at this time. Wojnarowski does note that the search for a replacement is moving too quickly for Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri to be a legitimate candidate.
