Potential candidates for Knicks team president
Raptors president Masai Ujiri waves during the team's NBA Finals victory parade on June 17, 2019 in Toronto. Credit: Getty Images/Vaughn Ridley
Masai Ujiri: The Knicks have had Ujiri on their radar for a long time and with good reason. But acquiring the Raptors executive would require compensation with another year on his contract. And more than that, his success has been in player development as much as his moves and would require a clean slate and the freedom to run his own show — something even Phil Jackson could not get. The biggest drawback might not be the compensation, but that he wouldn’t be able to deal with the Knicks, whom he repeatedly fleeced in trades.
R.C. Buford: For a Knicks franchise mired by instability, the allure of Buford is interesting — having run one of the steadiest franchises in sports. He served for 15 years as the general manager of the Spurs, leaving this summer to hand off that job to Brian Wright while he became CEO of Spurs Sports and Entertainment, overseeing some huge business projects. Would he get the itch to get back into basketball operations in a huge challenge?
Sam Presti: When Dave Checketts was the Knicks president the Garden was the place to be, an electric atmosphere complemented by an insistence on the best of everything. Oddly, in one of the NBA’s smaller markets in Oklahoma City, Presti has created a similar feel. There is perhaps no place in the league where the fans are more fervent, and Presti has managed to keep the team in contention through the losses of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
Tom Thibodeau/Jeff Van Gundy: They have Knicks roots — Van Gundy was head coach in the Knicks' last glory days and Thibodeau was one of his top assistants before becoming a successful coach in Chicago and eventually coach/team president in Minnesota. Both have ties to the Knicks' better days.
Under contract: It’s not just Ujiri who would take compensation to bring aboard. Neil Olshey in Portland signed an extension as did Denver’s Tim Connelly when he passed on a chance to go to the Wizards last summer.
Wild cards: ESPN reported that the Knicks could consider hiring an agent as the Warriors (Bob Myers) and Lakers (Rob Pelinka) did. But it’s hard to imagine the Knicks handing the keys to someone who has not done the job before at this time. But SNY reported that CAA’s Austin Brown could be considered, and Rich Paul of Klutch Sports would certainly be an interesting play with his contacts among star players. Rich Kleiman has spoken in the past of wanting to be the Knicks' GM, but that was before he helped steer Durant to Brooklyn.
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.
