The New York Knicks announced on Wednesday that they are parting ways Phil Jackson, and team owner James Dolan already has a replacement in mind.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports that Dolan has his eye on Toronto Raptors GM and president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri.
Knicks owner James Dolan is targeting Toronto's Masai Ujiri to replace Phil Jackson as N.Y.'s President, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 28, 2017
Ujiri joined the Raptors in 2013 after he was named NBA Executive of the Year with the Denver Nuggets. He signed a contract extension with Toronto last September. Interestingly enough, a former Raptors executive who hired Ujiri in Toronto will be advising the Knicks going forward.
Tim Leiweke, who hired Masai Ujiri in Toronto, is advising the Knicks on their direction.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) June 28, 2017
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.
In addition to being an excellent executive, Ujiri has also been known to rile fans up before big games. That’s something you certainly would never see from Jackson.
Ujiri will have some tough situations to deal with if he remains in Toronto (such as trying to re-sign Kyle Lowry), but nothing would be as big of a challenge as trying to rescue the Knicks.
