Knicks finalizing deal with Frank Zanin to be assistant GM, source says
A day after adding Walt Perrin to serve as assistant general manager with a focus on college personnel, Knicks president Leon Rose will bring on former Nets assistant general manager Frank Zanin to pair with Perrin.
According to a league source, Zanin is finalizing a deal to serve as the Knicks' assistant general manager/pro personnel. He joins Perrin and Brock Aller, who signed on earlier this month to serve as chief strategist, handling the salary cap
Zanin most recently served as a scout for the Thunder, a role he held the last four years. Prior to that, he served a variety of roles for the Nets, joining Billy King, who he had worked for with the 76ers, as a pro personnel scout and then earning promotions to director of player procurement and then assistant general manager.
He began his NBA career with the 76ers, serving as a scout for nine years in the city where he grew up and played high school basketball, and where he developed a relationship with Kobe Bryant, who played for a rival school. Zanin got an endorsement for the Nets’ full-time GM job four years ago from Bryant, who tweeted, “Hope to see you in the GM seat for the @BrooklynNets @F1E2Z you have a great basketball mind and it's time you get your shot #gogetit.”
During his time with the Nets, Zanin was credited with playing a role in signing Mirza Teletovic and re-signing Deron Williams, who coincidentally was drafted by the Jazz when Perrin pushed for the Jazz to trade up to get him.
Aller came from the Cavaliers, where he long served as a right-hand man and strategist for owner Dan Gilbert. Perrin comes from the Jazz with a long track record of success. Zanin has helped keep the Thunder as contenders despite the departure of Kevin Durant, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
Rose kept Scott Perry in place as general manager ahead of the May 1 deadline for his contract to be picked up for another season. The rest of the Knicks' front-office executives have contracts that expire in August and no decisions have been made on who will remain as the additions overlap some roles.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
