New York Knicks plan to name agent Leon Rose as head of basketball operations
The Knicks have their new president.
The organization plans on naming player agent Leon Rose as their new head of basketball operations, a person familiar with negotiations told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the hiring is announced by the team.
Rose will replace Steve Mills, who left his position as president earlier this week.
General manager Scott Perry has been serving as interim general manager.
Rose, who was an agent at Creative Artists Agency, represented former Knick Carmelo Anthony.
He’s also represented many other NBA stars, including Joel Embiid, Chris Paul and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Hiring an agent as the head of basketball operations is a unique move, but one that has been done before in the NBA.
The Golden State Warriors hired agent Bob Myers as general manager, while the Los Angeles Lakers did the same with Rob Pelinka. Pelinka is now the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations.
Upon Mills’ dismissal, there was speculation that Knicks owner Jim Dolan would pursue Raptors president Masai Ujiri, but such a move would be complicated. The Knicks would need to give the Raptors compensation, potentially in the form of first-round picks, since Ujiri is under contract through next season.
