Knicks Rumors: Front-Office Structure Seen as 'Confusing' by Those Around NBA

The New York Knicks front office hierarchy is considered "confusing" by other teams around the NBA, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Leon Rose is the team's president, but he didn't take the lead role in the failed negotiations for Donovan Mitchell.

"Leon delegates too much—delegates to a fault," one coaching source told Berman. "They had a breakaway layup and blew it."

Even Mitchell admitted he thought he was going to the Knicks—his hometown team—before ultimately being traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via RealGM) previously reported Gersson Rosas was the lead negotiator for the Knicks in the Mitchell pursuit. Rosas was previously president of the Minnesota Timberwolves before being fired in 2021, but he was only hired by the Knicks as a consultant last February.

He still took on major responsibilities for the team in recent months, while Rose never spoke to Jazz president Danny Ainge during negotiations.

General manager Scott Perry, executive vice president William Wesley and vice president Brock Aller also all have significant roles within the front office, although opposing teams clearly don't know who is in charge.

Rose notably has minimal front-office experience, spending most of his career as an agent before joining the Knicks in 2020. Wesley was also new to NBA management when taking his current job.

It has led to mixed results, featuring few high-profile moves.

The most notable free-agent signing was Jalen Brunson, who was Rose's former client at CAA and has family ties with the Knicks that go back decades. Other signings, like Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, have proved to be disastrous.

New York made the playoffs in 2021 to end a seven-year drought, but last year's team couldn't follow up on it with just a 37-45 record. Another poor season in 2022-23 could lead to some changes among the brass.