Knicks Owner James Dolan is "targeting" Raptors President & GM Masai Ujiri to replace Phil Jackson, according to sources cited by Adrian Wojnarowski of THE VERTICAL. Ujiri signed a five-year, $30M-plus extension a year ago, and it is "unclear how easily he could be pried" from the Raptors if he even has "interest in the job." Sources said that Dolan "became increasingly intrigued with Ujiri primarily through two past deals" with the Knicks -- the '11 trade with the Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony and the '13 trade for C Andrea Bargnani from the Raptors. The future of Knicks GM Steve Mills is unclear, but he likely will "transition the franchise through free agency, which begins Saturday" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/28). In N.Y., Stefan Bondy reports former MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke will "advise the Knicks moving forward," thus "furthering Ujiri as a leading candidate." Leiweke hired Ujiri with the Raptors and, "more importantly to Dolan," is business partners with Irving Azoff at Oak View Group (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 6/28). Also in N.Y., Marc Berman reports WNBA N.Y. Liberty President Isiah Thomas will "not be considered as Jackson’s successor." Thomas, who has a long relationship with Dolan, is in his third year running the Liberty. He has "told confidants for a long while he would one day inherit the Knicks presidency again." Thomas was fired in April '08 as team President and coach after a "rocky four-year run during which he was the central figure in a sexual harassment trial" (NYPOST.com, 6/28).
WHERE TO FROM HERE? THE VERTICAL's Chris Mannix writes the stakes have "never been higher" for the Knicks as they look to replace Jackson. A resolution "must be reached with Anthony," a relationship with F Kristaps Porzingis "must be repaired and a situation player agents have vowed to steer high-profile clients away from needs to be stabilized." Mannix: "The Knicks need experience. They need savvy. They need a leader built to run a team in the pressure cooker of New York." Ujiri is the "type of executive for whom you fork over compensation." He has the "vision to build a winner," as he did with the Nuggets and Raptors, and the "personality to build goodwill." Winning over the media "isn’t a GM’s job requirement, but in a city like New York, where toxic doesn’t begin to touch how nasty the relationship between the Knicks and the media has become, Ujiri’s engaging personality would go a long way" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/28).
