Published 11:05 IST, February 7th 2020
Knicks to hire CAA player agent Leon Rose as new president: Reports
New York Knicks are reportedly set to hire Creative Artists Agency (CAA) player agent Lion Rose as their new president of basketball operations. Find out more.
Advertisement
New York Knicks are reportedly set to hire Creative Artists Agency (CAA) player agent Lion Rose as their new president of basketball operations. ESPN reported that both the parties are expected to begin formal negotiations after the end of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday. Reports also add that CAA consultant, William Wesley will join Leon Rose in the Knicks front office. Wesley is commonly known as 'Worldwide Wes' in the NBA.
Knicks President: Leon Rose earmarked
Leon Rose and Worldwide Wes to the Knicks is fascinating. At CAA Rose represented Towns, Booker, Embiid, Kuzma.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) February 6, 2020
Keep in mind Towns, Booker and D’Angelo Russell—another CAA client—said last summer they’d someday like to team up.
Smart decision by the Knicks to hire Rose and Wes.
New York Knicks parted ways with president Steve Mills on Tuesday, just two days prior to the NBA trade deadline. Mills had served as the president of basketball operations since 2017, also serving as executive vice president and general manager of the franchise since 2013.
Earlier it was reported that Knicks were interested in Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations, Masai Ujiri. However, if the latest reports are to be believed, Leon Rose would soon become the new president of basketball operations at Knicks. A formal deal is not expected to be announced right away.
Leon Rose agent to Knicks president?
Statement from Madison Square Garden Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan: pic.twitter.com/91G6Qf8OBc
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) February 6, 2020
New York Knicks owner James Dolan issued a statement after firing Steve Mills, where he dictated his plans to reshape New York's front office by finding the right leader.
Leon Rose is the former agent of Lakers star LeBron James and the currently represents some of the top players in the league including the likes of Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Carmelo Anthony.
FYI: Leon Rose, besides being Carmelo’s agent, is very close with Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Mark Jackson. (Bring the whole gang back.)
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) February 6, 2020
Leon Rose does not have experience in an NBA front office but is expected to follow the trend of player agents moving to that side of the operation, following in the footsteps of Bob Myers with the Golden State Warriors and Rob Pelinka with the Los Angeles Lakers.
11:03 IST, February 7th 2020