The New York Knicks have become a walking disaster under owner James Dolan. The franchise hasn't had a winning record or made the playoffs since the 2012-13 season and the organization is seemingly always in the news for the wrong reasons.
However, there's a new man in New York whom Knicks fans are hoping can be the savior of the franchise. His name is Leon Rose, the former CAA agent who is now the president of basketball operations of the ‘Bockers.
Before the 2019-20 campaign was suspended due to COVID-19, the Knicks were in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 21-45 record. Head coach David Fizdale was fired after 22 games and replaced by Mike Miller, who went 17-27 before the season's indefinite suspension.
If the 2019-20 season does in fact get canceled, Rose and his team of associates will have A LOT of work to do to get the Knicks back to prominence. It's going to be a long process for Rose, but there are a few things he can do whenever the 2020 offseason begins to lighten his burden.
3. Hire Kenny Atkinson
The Knicks need to take advantage of the Brooklyn Nets' mistake and hire Atkinson to be their next head coach. Kenny is elite at player development and New York's roster is filled with youngsters who need the right leader to guide them in their NBA careers.
Atkinson won't have to deal with many egos on the Knicks since there is no superstar or All-Star on the team like there was in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
New York currently has seven first-round picks over the next four drafts alongside a young core that is headlined by RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. This is literally the perfect team for Atkinson to coach because the situation resembles the one he had in his early days with the Nets.
2. Fire Scott Perry
It's kind of a foregone conclusion that Perry will get fired by Rose. There's just no way Rose and his group can retain Perry's services after he failed miserably in free agency to acquire, let alone attract, any level of star talent.
After missing out on Durant and Irving in free agency, the Knicks signed Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock. With the exception of Kevin Knox, Perry did well with drafting Barrett and uncovering Robinson in the second round.
However, given that the Knicks are flush with cap space and multiple first-round picks, Rose needs to hire a high-quality general manager who will determine the fate of the franchise moving forward.
Given all of his connections through CAA, Rose shouldn't have trouble finding the right architect.
1. Trade Julius Randle
Randle was making $18 million this season and is set to make $18.9 million in 2020-21. The lefty is a talented scorer and rebounder, but his style of play reportedly didn't sit well with other players in the locker room.
Randle is essentially a black hole once he gets the ball in the post. He's not passing the ball that often. Rose, despite having a relationship with Randle because of CAA, needs to trade Julius and get off his contract. The Knicks need unselfish guys who are looking to make their teammates better.
The future of New York is Barrett and Robinson. The two kids can't develop properly if Randle is being a ball hog.
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