Getty New York Knicks president Leon Rose poses for photographs alongside Kemba Walker at the latter's introductory presser.
Leon Rose had the look of a made man in NYC when the roster he assembled for the New York Knicks — which was led by his handpicked coach — advanced to the 2021 NBA playoffs as a top-four seed. Now, though, the honeymoon is clearly over for the former agent.
Entering the offseason, the Knicks had more cash to spend than any team in the league. However, rather than making a serious play for DeMar DeRozan or someone, anyone, else to boost Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, Rose elected to put the franchise in cruise control.
He used the team’s money to re-sign a bunch of middling vets, while making Kemba Walker’s ghost and the inconsistent Evan Fournier his big free-agent prizes. Consequently, the team has fallen to the point that even a play-in spot seems like a pipe dream.
And, through it all, Rose has refused to stand up and take responsibility — or say anything at all, really — about what’s going on with the club. For his part, the New York Post‘s Ian O’Connor looks to be fed up with the radio silence.
O’Connor Shreds Rose for Shirking His Obligations
Rose often remained behind the proverbial curtain back when he was still representing NBA players. As O’Connor sees it, though, he gave up all rights to his Oz act when he accepted James Dolan’s offer to run the Knicks, writing:
“He became the president of a public trust in the country’s biggest media market, a role that requires accountability to the millions of people who pay to watch and support the product he puts on the floor — a product that constantly malfunctions while Rose runs and hides from the responsibility he signed up for.”
Although O’Connor is far from the only media member to comment on Rose’s aversion to the podium, the noted NYC scribe believes that the fans are the ones getting the short end of the stick.
“Rose has shown no respect for you, the fans, by refusing to speak to the people paid to ask questions about the team on your behalf,” he declared.
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Rose Has Hung Thibs Out to Dry
There’s no doubting that O’Connor thinks that the team’s current 3-17 funk needs to be addressed. And by leaving Tom Thibodeau to do it — the coach has essentialy become the spokesperson for the entire organization — Rose is doing his own guy a disservice, too.
“The fans deserve answers to these questions, and yet Rose effectively forces Thibodeau to explain everything that has gone wrong, sometimes twice a day, rather than provide him some cover and support,” he wrote.
“A lot of NBA people say Leon Rose is a good guy. But good guys don’t ignore the fans and abandon their head coach in troubled times.”
Ouch.
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