The Knicks are "planning to hire CAA basketball player agent Leon Rose as the franchise's president of basketball operations," according to sources cited by Wojnarowski & Shelburne of ESPN.com. Sources said that shortly before firing team President Steve Mills this week, Knicks Owner James Dolan began "exploring the front office model of hiring a top basketball executive out of the player-agent ranks." Rose has been "one of the top agents in basketball for decades." No formal deal is "expected to be announced anytime soon, but formal negotiations are expected to begin shortly after the NBA's trade deadline" today (ESPN.com, 2/6). SNY's Ian Begley cites a source as saying that William Wesley, known in basketball circles as Worldwide Wes, is "under strong consideration to be part of Knicks organization under Rose," as the two have a "strong relationship" (TWITTER.com, 2/6). On Long Island, Steve Popper notes Rose has "deep ties" with Dolan and helped "stock the Knicks roster with CAA clients in the last decade," including notably Carmelo Anthony. Meanwhile, a source said that current GM Scott Perry, who has been "overseeing basketball operations with Mills gone, is still expected to depart either after the trade deadline passes Thursday afternoon or at season’s end" (NEWSDAY, 2/6).
WORK TO BE DONE: USA TODAY's Iseman & Zillgitt note Rose will have a "major challenge ahead of him," as he will "need to build his front office and return the Knicks ... back to respectability" (USA TODAY, 2/6). ESPN's Bobby Marks notes Rose is "well connected" and a "smart basketball mind." However, there will be a "learning curve of putting a roster together," hiring a coach and "overseeing all aspects of a department." That is "not an easy task especially w/o any team experience," so he will "need to surround himself w/NBA experience" (TWITTER.com, 2/6). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, "I'm going to give it a chance.” He noted Rose “has paid his dues (and) he has been around for a long time,” but he still has “reservations” about the potential hire. Meanwhile, ESPN's Max Kellerman said, "Dolan is doing it again. He’s worried about hiring publicists to change his image and hiring agents to get some free agent anywhere to take his money. It’s not going to work, and we’ll be here 10 years from now laughing at this laughingstock of a team” ("First Take," ESPN, 2/6).
WHAT LED TO THIS: In N.Y., Marc Berman cited a source as saying that Dolan fired Mills so he could "begin researching and interviewing presidential candidates without having to do so in clandestine fashion." The thought was that Dolan "wanted a head man in place by season's end so he can lead a coaching search." Dolan last month hired branding consultant Steve Stoute "partly to help him with the search" (N.Y. POST, 2/6). Also in N.Y., George Willis writes just how much influence Stoute had in the firing of Mills is a "matter of opinion." A source said, "He's really there to work on Jim's image. I don't think he had a lot to do with it. Him and (Mills) talked all the time and were pretty transparent with each other. This has more to do with Jim and (Mills) than anything else." Willis: "Whether or not Stoute's fingerprints are on Mills' departure, he still has plenty of work to do to improve Dolan's image" (N.Y. POST, 2/6).
