With the New York Knicks team president post still vacant, some names have already emerged as potential replacements for Phil Jackson. However, they may not be looking far anymore for someone to take over the reins from the Zen Master.
It has been reported that the team’s general manager, Steve Mills, has been trying to make a power play to convince the ownership team to promote him then hire a new GM instead. Known to be close to majority owner James Dolan, Mills is apparently using that card to get him the team president position, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
“Mills, a survivor of several regimes because of his closeness with James Dolan, has been trying to convince the owner that he should be elevated to team president. In other words, the Knicks search for their next executive would only be for a GM to serve under Mills, rather than replacements for Jackson and Mills.”
The 57-year-old has been part of the organization since 1999 and held multiple functions with them, including senior vice president of basketball and player development, as well as executive vice president. He left the team though in 2009 and joined Magic Johnson Enterprises, before returning to the team as GM since 2013.
It remains to be seen who the Knicks will ultimately choose to hire, as they have been linked to former Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin and Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, among others.
One thing certain at this point, is whoever they will trust to take over their operations will have his hands full, as the team has a lot of decisions to make about their future, especially with some of their key players. Their situation is definitely something worth monitoring and it will be interesting to find out how things will unfold for them this summer.