Make no mistake, the New York Knicks have been playing better as of late. On Friday, the shorthanded team pulled out a surprising win over the East-leading Heat by closing on a 38-13 run. And that win was New York’s seventh in 11 tries.
Still, there’s no other way to classify the club’s season as anything other than a colossal disappointment. After being a top-four playoff seed last season, Tom Thibodeau’s crew is currently 10 games under .500 with just eight games left to play.
There’s a lot of blame to go around for the downturn. Thibodeau definitely deserves some of it, as do players like Julius Randle and Kemba Walker for not performing as well as anyone had hoped. The Derrick Rose injury looms large as well.
That said, team president Leon Rose may be at the top of the bad list. After all, he was the one who built the Knicks’ weird roster and then failed to correct course when it became clear things weren’t working. All the while, he refused to address what was transpiring, leaving his head coach to answer for every organizational woe.
As such, some have been calling for Rose’s dismissal. Of course, nothing appears to be imminent on that particular front, but if James Dolan does decide to axe his top decision-maker, one Knicks insider has identified an intriguing candidate to replace him.
Former Jazz Exec Mentioned as Potential Replacement
In a March 24 Plus feature for the New York Post, Marc Berman namechecked 10 current and former league execs who could take over for Rose as the Knicks’ chief decision-maker. Former Jazz VP/GM Dennis Lindsey was near the top of the list.
While Lindsey’s experience alone makes him a noteworthy candidate, he also has a connection to the player who might be the Knicks’ biggest trade target. Namely, three-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
Wrote Berman:
A 25-year veteran of NBA front offices, Lindsey and current Knicks assistant GM Walt Perrin built much of the current Jazz roster. The Jazz have been in the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. With Perrin as his top college scout, Lindsey oversaw the drafting of stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
Lindsey made a terrific hire in naming Quin Snyder as the Jazz head coach, but reportedly their relationship deteriorated and Lindsey was let go last summer after a nine-year run.
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An Ideal Candidate?
His connection to Mitchell notwithstanding, Lindsey just might be exactly the kind of exec the Knicks need.
For starters, he’s an actual front office guy who’s well-practiced in running basketball ops at the NBA level, something Rose is still figuring out after a lengthy career as a player agent. And before he ever ran his own team, he spent years learning the trade from the likes of Caroll Dawson and RC Buford.
Lindsey also has experience building a team from the ground up. In the 2010s, he inherited a Jazz club that was struggling to find its identity in the post-Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur era. Through asset accumulation, a series of shrewd financial maneuvers, cash-in trades and a few home-run draft picks, he was able to make the team a regular winner once more.
Last season, the Jazz finished with the best record in the Association at 52-20, after which they advanced to Round 2 of the playoffs.
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Donovan Mitchell Connection a Candidate to Replace Knicks’ Leon Rose: Insider