Taking the Temperature on the Leon Rose Era | The Knicks Wall

10 min readJul 17, 2023

Leon Rose’s tenure as the Knicks’ president of basketball operations has been marked not by splashy moves, but by patience and precision. Where will it all lead?

Time flies when you are winning basketball games. It has been three years since Leon Rose took over as president of basketball operations for the New York Knicks. In that time, the Knicks have made the playoffs twice, firmly and finally rising from the basement of the Eastern Conference.

As the major moves of the offseason appear to have been made, pending an Immanuel Quickley extension, now felt like the right time to check the temperature on the job Rose has done since taking over.

The Beginning: Relying on Relationships

Leon Rose was hired on March 2, 2020. The Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets that night, 125–123, at Madison Square Garden, led by a 27-point performance by RJ Barrett. Perhaps it was a good omen: the team is 128–114 since Rose was named team president. Beyond the numbers, there is an unquestionable change in the franchise, from the top of the organization chart all the way down to the fifteenth man on the bench.

Rose took over a front office that was not in disarray, but far from leading the team into contention. Steve Mills was let go on February 4, 2020, after another forgettable tenure in the front office. Mills’ general manager, Scott Perry, was kept on, but Rose quickly filled out the front office with his guys: William Wesley, Brock Aller, and Walt Perrin.

Each guy fulfilled a specific purpose. Perrin was the draft expert, Aller the numbers guy, and Wesley the power broker. Perry had no function other than continuity. He was not a disaster as general manager — for example, he drafted Mitchell Robinson in the second round, RJ Barrett third overall, and signed Julius Randle. On the flip side, he also drafted Kevin Knox over Mikal Bridges and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and signed Evan Fournier, but I digress. The point is, Perry was kept on, though it was clear any major moves were not being signed off by him.

Rose stayed with the theme of relying on existing relationships to take care of his second order of business: building the right coaching staff for a team filled with young players. To do that, Rose turned to an old friend, Tom Thibodeau. Despite the constant debate regarding his methods, there is no questioning that the team needed a stern basketball fanatic to establish a culture of winning.

Thibodeau was able to do that with an impressive staff for his first season that included rising star Johnnie Bryant as associate head coach and veterans Mike Woodson and Kenny Payne, both of whom went on to college head coaching jobs due to the team’s success in year one under Thibodeau.

Rose kept it simple in his first free agency, re-signing Elfrid Payton and adding rotational pieces Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Austin Rivers. That set the stage for his first draft as team president.

That first draft under Rose received mixed reviews at the time, which has not really changed with the departure of Obi Toppin. The Knicks’ starting point guard on draft night was Payton, a name that still sends shivers down the spine every so often.

Instead of upgrading the point guard position with Tyrese Haliburton, Rose opted to once again focus on existing relationships and selected Toppin, who is represented by Rose’s son, Sam. At the time, the pick made sense, as Julius Randle’s leap had not happened yet.

In hindsight, the selection feels a bit foolish as Haliburton already has an All-Star appearance under his belt, while Toppin failed to crack 20 minutes per game in three seasons and was recently traded for a pitiful return. The Toppin gaffe was remedied quickly by Wesley, who by all reports was relentless in banging the drum on Immanuel Quickley, whom the team would ultimately select 25th overall.

Quickley was a fan-favorite from day one and remains the saving grace of that draft. It’s not that Toppin doesn’t have talent, it is just that there were more significant needs to fix at the time. The best form of “copium” for the Toppin pick is throwing on the rose-colored glasses to see that the Toppin selection triggered Randle to put together one of the best seasons in Knick history .

The Reunion

Rose’s first brilliant move would come during his first full season as team president. The Knicks flipped Dennis Smith Jr., a talented point guard that was in desperate need of a change in scenery, and a second-round pick for Derrick Rose.

D-Rose’s second act in New York was nothing short of beautiful, giving fans reasons to believe in second chances. The reunion with Thibodeau proved much more successful than his first tenure in New York. The team went 24–11 with Rose in the lineup, as he instantly became a crucial piece to the playoff puzzle.

In addition to his impact on the floor, Rose took Quickley and Toppin under his wing, a mentorship that bore immediate fruit. Quickley and Toppin would find their footing with Rose and the second unit.

It is not overstating to say the DSJ for Rose swap helped the Knicks end their playoff drought. Rose led the bench mob, which became the strength of the team, before being asked to take over for Payton in the starting lineup in the playoffs.

Once they reached the playoffs, that level of responsibility placed on the aging Rose put a spotlight on the work the front office had in front of them to take that next leap. A first-round exit to Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks stung, but there was unmistakable progress made.

The Come Down

The fever dream of the post-pandemic 2020–21 campaign was mainly Julius Randle and RJ Barrett’s shooting numbers regressing to the mean, but was set up by an up-and-down offseason. The front office started off strong with a solid draft that saw Quentin Grimes (25th), Miles McBride (36th), Jericho Sims (58th), and Rokas Jokubaitis (34th) land with New York.

That set the stage for a fun Summer League team, led by a year two Quickley, but the fun simmered down during free agency. Randle was rewarded for his best NBA season with a four-year $118 million extension, Rose inked a three-year $43 million deal, and Burks and Noel were brought back in multi-year deals as repayment for their roles in the playoff season.

Payton was thankfully not one of those retained. He was replaced by Kemba Walker, a calculated risk taken by the team that did not pan out. Walker’s knees were shot, and save for a fun run in December capped off by a 44-point performance , the Walker homecoming was the perfect symbol for the entire season: there were some moments of brilliance but largely fell flat.

The other big signing of the summer was Evan Fournier. To quote TKW veteran Kyle Maggio, 78 million American dollars for Evan Fournier! That is the best way to describe Fournier’s lone season as a key piece. To his credit, he did set the franchise record for three-pointers in a single season, but it is safe to say that he and Kemba did not pan out.

Neither did the Kevin Knox for Cam Reddish swap in January of that season. Reddish would prove to not exactly be the shot-in-the-arm Rose was. Thibodeau never seriously considered Reddish for his rotation, despite his chemistry with RJ Barrett.

The underwhelming 37–45 season put pressure on Rose for the first time as team president to make a splash.

The Star Splash

On the surface, it seemed like another move to help the family. Rick Brunson, a former client of Leon Rose, was hired by the team as an assistant coach 40 days before the team inked his son Jalen to a $100 million contract. At the time, the signing was ridiculed.

The ridicule could have more to do with the Knicks than with Brunson. The signing came after the team attempted to move up in the draft to select Purdue’s speedy point guard, Jaden Ivey. The missed opportunity was compounded by the fact the Knicks drafted a talented young center Jalen Duren, who they shipped off to Detroit to shed Kemba Walker’s contract.

Regardless of how they got there, the Knicks and Brunson felt inevitable. Brunson became the first player to sign a $100 million contract without making an All-Star team, and the fifth player to receive a $100 million contract from the Knicks, joining Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Randle, and Allan Houston.

Any critics of the Brunson signing were quickly put in their place. Prior relationships aside, Brunson was the star signing the team had desperately been searching for. His first season in New York was a tour de force; Brunson answered the decades-long question of when will the Knicks have a reliable point guard.

On the floor, Brunson was amazing all season. He averaged a career-high 24.0 points per game, shot a career-high 41.6% from three, and dished out a career-high 6.2 assists per game. The end result was a fifth seed for the Knicks, a second All-Star and All-NBA season from Julius Randle, and the first playoff series win for the Knicks in ten years.

Taking Care of Family Business

The summer of 2022 was the most successful summer a Knick front office had in quite some time. That success stretches beyond the Brunson signing. In addition to landing a star-caliber player to the roster, the Knicks re-signed key pieces of their strong young core.

Mitchell Robinson was taken care of immediately. The team and their defensive anchor agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal to kick off the summer. With Robinson taken care of so was the Knick defense, and Robinson made good on that signing, most notably in the first round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers, making mincemeat of the Cavs’ big men on the boards.

The final move of the summer was securing RJ Barrett. After Donovan Mitchell trade talks fizzled, the front office agreed to a team-friendly four-year deal with incentives that could max out at $120 million. Some of those incentives include goals Barrett likely already had written down for himself: All-Star, All-NBA, and NBA All-Defensive team selections.

The contract made Barrett the youngest $100 million player in team history, a gamble well worth taking if you are the Knicks. Barrett is one of only five players in league history to record 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 200 3-pointers before turning 22 years old. The other four? Kobe Bryant, Luka Dončić, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Barrett undeniably hit a rough patch during the regular season, however, he righted the ship in the playoffs. Moving forward, Barrett’s mere presence keeps New York an attractive destination for Zion Williamson and, depending on development, provides Brunson with a young core piece on the wing to grow with.

This summer Rose has shown Brunson how invested the team is in making him comfortable. The team added another close friend and longtime teammate Donte DiVincenzo for $50 million. Josh Hart, acquired last season, figures to get paid after doing the team a solid and opting into his player option.

The returns on the chemistry between Hart and Brunson were immediate. Considering the cost was centered around a doomed Cam Reddish the trade was highway robbery. The Knicks went 17–8 after they landed Hart at the trade deadline.

From his first minute as a Knick Hart seemed at home. His ridiculous rebounding skills helped the Knicks own the boards as he felt like a third big at times with how many rebounds he pulled down. His nonstop energy sped the game up, a tempo Brunson and Immanuel Quickley thrived in. The hope is DiVincenzo can have a similar impact, although it will be tough to top the swift makeover Hart helped accomplish.

Waiting on the Big Move, But Moving the Timeline

Clearly, Leon Rose has been a success when you look at where the team is in the present and set up for the future. It used to be voodoo to buy a Knick jersey because it could become a throwback in just a few years. Now there is a group of guys who will enter their fourth year playing together, and all five starters are expected back barring a shocking trade.

Stability is underrated. Too many moments in past Knicks regimes were marked by keeping the Knicks under permanent scaffolding. A head coach heading into year four with the team and not being on the hot seat is rare. Just as rare is the likely successor sits just one seat down the bench, and has developed a strong rapport with the players.

The only thing left on Rose’s checklist is adding a Tier-One star player to bring it all together. The appeal of Leon Rose and William Wesley was luring star players, the one major thing they have not delivered on just yet. While he absolutely hit on Brunson and helped rebuild Julius Randle, those are not the names that were brought up when Rose was brought in.

The hope is that players take notice of the ways the team has accommodated Brunson in his short time in NYC. Brunson has wanted for not, and joined a group that was well on their way towards building something good. The team believes last season was just the beginning for Brunson, not the ceiling. An improved Barrett and Grimes with an even better Brunson and Randle is an excellent place to be.

The CAA ties and past and current relationships were supposed to land the big star. Maybe the removal of Scott Perry is a sign of bigger things to come after next season.

Rose has no doubt been successful, just through an unexpected route. The moves were not as flashy as anticipated, and more proactive than front offices past, with the end result being the Knicks on an upward trajectory, for real this time.

Originally published at https://theknickswall.com on July 17, 2023.