The New York Knicks finally decided to part ways with president Steve Mills on Tuesday, and owner James Dolan is swinging for the fences to find a replacement.
The Knicks are looking to hire Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujuri, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ujiri’s contract is set to expire after next season.
Knicks owner Jim Dolan is targeting Toronto president Masai Ujiri to ultimately oversee New York’s operations, league sources tell ESPN. He is under contract through 2020-2021 in Toronto.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2020
Marc Stein of the New York Times was told the Knicks believe they have a real chance to land Ujiri.
There have been strong rumblings since December that the Knicks believe they have a real shot to lure Masai Ujiri away from Toronto to take over. Of course, many also believed the Knicks knew they were getting Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving when they traded away Kristaps Porzingis
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 4, 2020
Knicks general manager Scott Perry is expected to continue with his role for the foreseeable future, and he will be in charge of the team’s basketball operations department in the interim.
The Knicks have just 15 wins on the season and are almost certain to miss the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year. They fired head coach David Fizdale earlier in the season, and they are once again looking to hit the reset button after missing out on all of the big-name free agents last summer. Ujiri is considered one of the best executives in the NBA, and hiring him could certainly help turn things around in New York.
Of course, the Knicks are also considered one of the most poorly run franchises in sports. Ujiri is not the only successful executive they have been linked to, but there will always be questions about whether or not people want to work for the Knicks. Even if Ujiri decides to move on from Toronto, he can almost take his pick of NBA jobs. That doesn’t bode well for New York.
