The tandem of Knicks President Steve Mills and new GM Scott Perry heading the team's front office is "expected to be kinder, gentler and friendlier," according to Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the duo will "be a lot more available to the media." Perry, who left the Kings, "pushed for the Knicks job -- feeling it was the most influence he yet has had." Sources said that in due time, Perry will be "allowed to hire new personnel men if he sees fit, though he is well versed in the current Knicks staff" (N.Y. POST, 7/16). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin wrote it is "simply bad business to deprive someone of Perry’s character and reputation the opportunity to run his own franchise, to accept a GM job that he should have been offered years ago." The Kings and VP/Basketball Operations & GM Vlade Divac benefited "immensely from Perry’s presence, abbreviated though it was." Voisin: "Thanks in part to Perry’s influence, the Kings are no longer in the business of getting fleeced" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 7/15). THE RINGER's Riley McAtee wrote Perry's connections and relationships around the NBA "proved invaluable for the Kings, even though he was on the job for less than three months." McAtee: "His skill set could prove perfect for the Knicks, because guess which franchise was the least desirable this summer?" (THERINGER.com, 7/14). On Long Island, Al Iannazzone noted Perry since taking the job has "spoken about having no agendas and the importance of having good relationships with people." It is "unclear how much of a voice Perry will have within the Knicks because they have a number of front-office people and scouts who have been together for years." But any "change of philosophy or different vision or new voice would be a step in the right direction for the Knicks" (NEWSDAY, 7/16).
TAKING TO BROADWAY: In DC, Tim Bontemps wrote the Knicks' front office moves are "confounding," as a team in "need of a reset has opted instead for more of the same." It is "laughable" that a "culture change is taking place at an organization that refuses to actually change its culture or any of the people involved in creating it" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/14). The N.Y. POST's Berman reports former Knicks President Phil Jackson's camp "already is gossiping that Mills’ presence didn’t allow for the vast culture change" Jackson envisioned. Nevertheless, Mills and Jackson were a "good match in that Mills did all the dirty work and stayed on top of agents/opposing general managers." But Mills "isn’t a believer that management should interfere with the offensive system run by the coach" (N.Y. POST, 7/17).
