NBA executives provide input on why Leon Rose could be the right fit as the New York Knicks president of basketball operations.
On Tuesday, the New York Knicks took the initiative and parted ways with president Steve Mills. And now, the organization has announced that they’ll be hiring Leon Rose as his successor.
Executives from around the league have thus chimed in and provided their thoughts on the selection of Rose.
“He’s sharp, he knows the landscape and he’s well connected,” a former Knicks executive said, per Ian Begley of SNY. “I’m sure he has a vision for how to build the organization… he’s going to need great people under him – talent evaluators, analytics, salary cap. If he gets those hires right, there’s no reason to think he can’t thrive there.”
Rose has been a prominent player’s agent who’s worked for CAA and has a great reputation in the league. He’s represented players like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Allen Iverson.
Rose played an incredibly important role in assembling the “Big Three” (James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh) in Miami in the 2010s.
Although Rose cannot be hired until he’s formally and officially split from CAA, it’s going to be interesting to see what changes he makes to the organization and its personnel.
As is evident by the comments of so many in the NBA world, Rose seems to be well-liked by all.
This move likely signifies that Masai Ujiri, president of the defending-champion Toronto Raptors, will not be heading to New York. Ujiri was Knicks owner James Dolan’s primary target.
Even though this may come to the dismay of Knicks fans — who were desperate to see the basketball genius in Toronto come to the aid of their team — Rose must be given a chance. It seems like he can really change things up and put the Knicks on the right track. Hopefully, Dolan will give him the necessary leeway to do so.