Alakazam!
Today was partially a good day, as the Knicks got a fine return on Marcus Morris.
It was also partially a bizarre day, as Dolan decided that he couldn’t wait until the season was over to hire a new team president.
Typically, if you’re available to become team president in the middle of the season, you probably shouldn’t be chosen as team president. See December 2003 and March 2014.
But hey, maybe Leon Rose will surprise us!
Let’s go? Knicks!
Ian Begley has the trade return.
The Knicks get Moe Harkless, the Clippers’ 2020 first rounder, the Pistons’ 2021 second rounder, the draft rights to Issuf Sanon and the right to swap first rounders next year with the Clippers (that does not include the Mavericks pick that the Knicks own, so I’m sure the Clippers were, like, “Uhmmm…okay, sure, if you really want to. You get you suck, right?”).
That’s a fine return. Good job, Perry!
I mean, Morris’ strong play made him an easy guy to trade, but it’s still a fine return.
During the offseaon, it was clear that the Knicks signed one dude who clearly had trade value and it was Morris. Thank goodness they actually traded him.
Did they only have him to trade because one of the multiple midlevel guys they rushed to sign on the first day of the offseaon turned out to be hurt? Sure, but hey, better to be lucky than not!
Woj reports that the Knicks will be naming CAA super-agent Leon Rose as their next president.
This was a terrible process. This was handled about as poorly as you could handle things. This was way too rushed. The whole thing is very embarrassing for the Knicks…
Buuuuut…I could see it working out. We saw CAA destroy the Knicks back in the day, but their goal then wasn’t to help the Knicks win, but to help their clients get what they wanted. To do so, Rose routinely took Dolan to the woodshed, much like Masai Ujiri.
So Rose is at least actively good at his previous job. Will those skills translate to being an NBA president? No idea, but the odds are much better than Phil Jackson or Steve Mills.
So make no mistake, this is still embarrassing. It just might be a case where they walked ass backwards into something that works.