The New York Knicks are searching for a replacement for Phil Jackson, and one report indicates they feel good about their chances of landing their top target.
Almost immediately after the Knicks announced they were parting ways with Jackson, Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri seemingly became the favorite to fill the vacancy. Bruce Arthur of The Star wrote Wednesday that he was told by NBA sources that the Knicks are “confident Ujiri is coming to New York.” He adds that the Raptors are also confident Ujiri will remain with the team, but Arthur wonders if that could be “overconfidence or naïveté.”
Tim Leiweke, a former Raptors executive who hired Ujiri, will be advising the Knicks going forward. That almost certainly means he’ll be trying to recruit Ujiri. It could complicate things that Ujiri is still under contract with the Raptors and signed an extension last September. As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne notes, Toronto could try to force the Knicks to give up some sort of compensation — likely draft picks — in exchange for Ujiri being let out of his contract.
Arthur doesn’t envision Ujiri’s contract being an obstacle if the 32-year-old wants to leave.
Free agency opens July 1. As of Wednesday evening sources indicated the request had not been made, but that can change with a phone call. Despite the contract, sources indicate Ujiri can leave if he wants to leave. It’s really up to him.
Ujiri joined the Raptors in 2013 after he was named NBA Executive of the Year with the Denver Nuggets. Among the many excellent moves Ujiri has made to turn the Raptors into a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference was a seemingly lopsided traded with the — you guessed it — New York Knicks. Shortly after he took over in Toronto, Ujiri unloaded Andrea Bargnani’s contract by trading him to the Knicks for several role players, a 2016 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2014 and 2017. Bargnani ended up being a terrible addition in New York.
Knicks fans are likely crossing their fingers that Ujiri wants to come to the New York, because another possible scenario that has been presented is downright horrifying.
