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Emotion overtook Leon Rose.
The president of the Knicks choked back tears inside Cleveland’s Rocket Arena in a moment of unadulterated — and well-earned — bliss.
At long last, the Knicks were returning to the NBA Finals, and the significance of the moment was not lost on their architect.
Over the past six years, Rose methodically constructed this Eastern Conference-winning roster, repeatedly making the right moves even when they weren’t always the sexiest ones.
The result is the Knicks’ first trip to the Finals since 1999 — a feat Rose’s predecessors including Isiah Thomas and Phil Jackson never came close to achieving.
“Mr. [James] Dolan and Leon Rose, they’re just as big of a part of this thing as I am, or Jalen [Brunson] is, or anybody else is,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said during the Eastern Conference Finals.
“For sure.”
When Rose took the job in March of 2020, the Knicks were limping to the end of their seventh consecutive losing season. They would finish that COVID-shortened campaign at 21-45, marking their 16th sub-.500 record in a 19-year span.
At the time, Rose was one of the sport’s premier player agents, having represented LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid and Chris Paul at different points.
By hiring Rose — formerly of the heavy-hitting Creative Artists Agency (CAA) — the Knicks continued a trend in which ex-agents Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors and Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers successfully switched to basketball operations.
Still, entrusting Rose, who had no front-office experience, was a gamble for the Knicks owner Dolan.
Three months after his hiring, the Knicks employed well-connected exec William “World Wide Wes” Wesley — whom Rose had worked closely with for decades — as their executive vice president/senior basketball adviser.
The roster Rose took over had a few promising pieces in Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson, but it was far away from legitimate contention.
Rose hired former client Tom Thibodeau as head coach before the 2020-21 season, and it paid quick dividends as the Knicks made the playoffs, albeit with a first-round exit.
The Knicks continued to supplement their young core early in Rose’s tenure, including with draft-day trades for Immanuel Quickley in 2020 and Miles “Deuce” McBride in 2021.
But it wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that Rose’s vision truly started to form.
Rose’s first-ever client was Rick Brunson, who played nine NBA seasons, including parts of three with the Knicks. That June, the Knicks hired Brunson as an assistant coach, reuniting him with Thibodeau, whose staffs he had worked on in Chicago and Minnesota.
A month later, the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson — Rick’s son — to a four-year, $104 million contract to be their starting point guard.
The move represented Rose’s biggest swing to that point, and it was hardly guaranteed to work. While he had shown flashes as Luka Doncic’s running mate in Dallas, Brunson had never been a full-time franchise player, and at 6-2, he was smaller than the prototypical NBA star.
Brunson quickly rewarded Rose’s faith. He finished 12th in NBA MVP voting in his first season with the Knicks, leading them to a 47-35 record and a first-round series victory in the 2023 playoffs.
Critics still doubted whether someone in Brunson’s profile could be the best player on a championship contender, but Rose continued to build around his burgeoning star.
He traded a first-round pick to acquire do-it-all guard Josh Hart — whom Brunson won one of his two national championships with at Villanova — in February of 2023, then signed Hart to a four-year, $81 million extension the following offseason.
That same summer, Rose signed Donte DiVincenzo — himself a former college teammate of Brunson and Hart — to a four-year, $50 million deal.
The heart-and-hustle Hart and sharp-shooting DiVincenzo helped round out a Knicks roster that possessed scoring from Brunson and size from Randle and Robinson, but Rose wasn’t satisfied.
In the clearest demonstration of his willingness to make tough decisions, Rose engineered a midseason trade in December of 2023 to acquire OG Anunoby, one of the NBA’s top two-way wings.
It didn’t come cheaply, as the Knicks sent Barrett and Quickley — two homegrown fan favorites — to the Toronto Raptors.
Anunoby’s elite defense and floor-spacing more than made up for the depth the Knicks relinquished to acquire him. Had Anunoby, Randle and Robinson stayed healthy, the Knicks very well could have advanced deeper than the second round of the 2024 playoffs.
“There was definitely a progression,” Anunoby said Friday.
“Guys were coming, every year, getting better and better. Jalen came. Josh came. Donte, Isaiah [Hartenstein]. Each year, progression. I noticed it from afar, and even since I came here, it’s been the same thing.”
But once again, Rose wasn’t done.
In the summer of 2024, Rose traded five first-round draft picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges, adding yet another player from those Villanova championship teams.
Some deemed it an overpay, as Bridges had never been an All-Star, and that draft capital could have later been used to acquire a bigger-name star.
But Rose and the Knicks valued Bridges’ fit, envisioning him as another defensive stopper and as a dangerous 3-point shooter and slasher to further open up the Knicks’ offense.
Later that offseason, Rose forfeited depth for the ultimate upside swing. He sent Randle and DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Towns, giving the Knicks enviable size and a true co-star for Brunson.
Last year, that lineup of Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Hart and Bridges — with Robinson and McBride off the bench — led the Knicks to the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000.
The trip ended in disappointment, however, as the run-and-gun, 10-deep Pacers outlasted and eliminated the Knicks in six games.
“Anytime you’re playing NBA basketball, it’s difficult to win,” Towns said Friday.
“For us, it’s been a process. When [my] trade happened, obviously things happened quick and success came pretty quick, but it was not the success that we envisioned. I’m glad that this year, we’re seeing ourselves start to mature and round out what the vision was from day one.”
Most would have been content to run it back this season, but the championship-hopeful Knicks, resolute on taking that final step, fired Thibodeau last June and embarked on an exhaustive search for a new voice.
After five weeks of interviews (and a few unsuccessful attempts to talk to coaches employed by other teams), the Knicks hired Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and a four-time champion as an assistant.
Brown immediately demonstrated a willingness to collaborate, and as this season and postseason progressed, he proved adept at making adjustments.
The same goes for Rose, who has repeatedly found ways to upgrade his roster, prioritizing fit and chemistry over anything else.
His successful additions of Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Hart and Bridges — not to mention role players such as Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado — have far outweighed any of his roster-construction misses.
Those moves continue to look better and better as every player finds his footing and fits into place, resulting in a cohesive juggernaut that enters the NBA Finals on an 11-game winning streak.
Rose’s resistance to pursue superstars such as Donovan Mitchell, Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo amid heavy trade rumors looks similarly savvy now.
And the Knicks appear poised to keep this roster in place, as ESPN reports they are expected to re-sign impending free agents Robinson and Shamet this offseason and go deep into the salary cap’s second apron.
Rose isn’t one to victory-lap his success. He doesn’t hold press conferences or conduct interviews, opting instead to operate behind the scenes. His emotional moment after Game 4 in Cleveland went viral only because someone captured zoomed-in footage of it.
That’s why it’s up to others to give Rose his due.
“Leon and his staff have done a freakin’ fantastic, fantastic job,” Brown said. “I can even take it a step further — it doesn’t happen if Mr. Dolan wants to keep his hands in his pocket and not allow Leon to go do his work.”
Continue reading...
The president of the Knicks choked back tears inside Cleveland’s Rocket Arena in a moment of unadulterated — and well-earned — bliss.
At long last, the Knicks were returning to the NBA Finals, and the significance of the moment was not lost on their architect.
Over the past six years, Rose methodically constructed this Eastern Conference-winning roster, repeatedly making the right moves even when they weren’t always the sexiest ones.
The result is the Knicks’ first trip to the Finals since 1999 — a feat Rose’s predecessors including Isiah Thomas and Phil Jackson never came close to achieving.
“Mr. [James] Dolan and Leon Rose, they’re just as big of a part of this thing as I am, or Jalen [Brunson] is, or anybody else is,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said during the Eastern Conference Finals.
“For sure.”
When Rose took the job in March of 2020, the Knicks were limping to the end of their seventh consecutive losing season. They would finish that COVID-shortened campaign at 21-45, marking their 16th sub-.500 record in a 19-year span.
At the time, Rose was one of the sport’s premier player agents, having represented LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid and Chris Paul at different points.
By hiring Rose — formerly of the heavy-hitting Creative Artists Agency (CAA) — the Knicks continued a trend in which ex-agents Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors and Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers successfully switched to basketball operations.
Still, entrusting Rose, who had no front-office experience, was a gamble for the Knicks owner Dolan.
Three months after his hiring, the Knicks employed well-connected exec William “World Wide Wes” Wesley — whom Rose had worked closely with for decades — as their executive vice president/senior basketball adviser.
The roster Rose took over had a few promising pieces in Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson, but it was far away from legitimate contention.
Rose hired former client Tom Thibodeau as head coach before the 2020-21 season, and it paid quick dividends as the Knicks made the playoffs, albeit with a first-round exit.
The Knicks continued to supplement their young core early in Rose’s tenure, including with draft-day trades for Immanuel Quickley in 2020 and Miles “Deuce” McBride in 2021.
But it wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that Rose’s vision truly started to form.
Rose’s first-ever client was Rick Brunson, who played nine NBA seasons, including parts of three with the Knicks. That June, the Knicks hired Brunson as an assistant coach, reuniting him with Thibodeau, whose staffs he had worked on in Chicago and Minnesota.
A month later, the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson — Rick’s son — to a four-year, $104 million contract to be their starting point guard.
The move represented Rose’s biggest swing to that point, and it was hardly guaranteed to work. While he had shown flashes as Luka Doncic’s running mate in Dallas, Brunson had never been a full-time franchise player, and at 6-2, he was smaller than the prototypical NBA star.
Brunson quickly rewarded Rose’s faith. He finished 12th in NBA MVP voting in his first season with the Knicks, leading them to a 47-35 record and a first-round series victory in the 2023 playoffs.
Critics still doubted whether someone in Brunson’s profile could be the best player on a championship contender, but Rose continued to build around his burgeoning star.
He traded a first-round pick to acquire do-it-all guard Josh Hart — whom Brunson won one of his two national championships with at Villanova — in February of 2023, then signed Hart to a four-year, $81 million extension the following offseason.
That same summer, Rose signed Donte DiVincenzo — himself a former college teammate of Brunson and Hart — to a four-year, $50 million deal.
The heart-and-hustle Hart and sharp-shooting DiVincenzo helped round out a Knicks roster that possessed scoring from Brunson and size from Randle and Robinson, but Rose wasn’t satisfied.
In the clearest demonstration of his willingness to make tough decisions, Rose engineered a midseason trade in December of 2023 to acquire OG Anunoby, one of the NBA’s top two-way wings.
It didn’t come cheaply, as the Knicks sent Barrett and Quickley — two homegrown fan favorites — to the Toronto Raptors.
Anunoby’s elite defense and floor-spacing more than made up for the depth the Knicks relinquished to acquire him. Had Anunoby, Randle and Robinson stayed healthy, the Knicks very well could have advanced deeper than the second round of the 2024 playoffs.
“There was definitely a progression,” Anunoby said Friday.
“Guys were coming, every year, getting better and better. Jalen came. Josh came. Donte, Isaiah [Hartenstein]. Each year, progression. I noticed it from afar, and even since I came here, it’s been the same thing.”
But once again, Rose wasn’t done.
In the summer of 2024, Rose traded five first-round draft picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges, adding yet another player from those Villanova championship teams.
Some deemed it an overpay, as Bridges had never been an All-Star, and that draft capital could have later been used to acquire a bigger-name star.
But Rose and the Knicks valued Bridges’ fit, envisioning him as another defensive stopper and as a dangerous 3-point shooter and slasher to further open up the Knicks’ offense.
Later that offseason, Rose forfeited depth for the ultimate upside swing. He sent Randle and DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Towns, giving the Knicks enviable size and a true co-star for Brunson.
Last year, that lineup of Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Hart and Bridges — with Robinson and McBride off the bench — led the Knicks to the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000.
The trip ended in disappointment, however, as the run-and-gun, 10-deep Pacers outlasted and eliminated the Knicks in six games.
“Anytime you’re playing NBA basketball, it’s difficult to win,” Towns said Friday.
“For us, it’s been a process. When [my] trade happened, obviously things happened quick and success came pretty quick, but it was not the success that we envisioned. I’m glad that this year, we’re seeing ourselves start to mature and round out what the vision was from day one.”
Most would have been content to run it back this season, but the championship-hopeful Knicks, resolute on taking that final step, fired Thibodeau last June and embarked on an exhaustive search for a new voice.
After five weeks of interviews (and a few unsuccessful attempts to talk to coaches employed by other teams), the Knicks hired Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and a four-time champion as an assistant.
Brown immediately demonstrated a willingness to collaborate, and as this season and postseason progressed, he proved adept at making adjustments.
The same goes for Rose, who has repeatedly found ways to upgrade his roster, prioritizing fit and chemistry over anything else.
His successful additions of Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Hart and Bridges — not to mention role players such as Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado — have far outweighed any of his roster-construction misses.
Those moves continue to look better and better as every player finds his footing and fits into place, resulting in a cohesive juggernaut that enters the NBA Finals on an 11-game winning streak.
Rose’s resistance to pursue superstars such as Donovan Mitchell, Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo amid heavy trade rumors looks similarly savvy now.
And the Knicks appear poised to keep this roster in place, as ESPN reports they are expected to re-sign impending free agents Robinson and Shamet this offseason and go deep into the salary cap’s second apron.
Rose isn’t one to victory-lap his success. He doesn’t hold press conferences or conduct interviews, opting instead to operate behind the scenes. His emotional moment after Game 4 in Cleveland went viral only because someone captured zoomed-in footage of it.
That’s why it’s up to others to give Rose his due.
“Leon and his staff have done a freakin’ fantastic, fantastic job,” Brown said. “I can even take it a step further — it doesn’t happen if Mr. Dolan wants to keep his hands in his pocket and not allow Leon to go do his work.”
Continue reading...
