Steve Mills Fired as Knicks President Ahead of NBA Trade Deadline

Megan ArmstrongSenior Analyst IFebruary 4, 2020

New York Knicks' president Steve Mills speaks to reporters at a news conference in Tarrytown, N.Y., Thursday, April 12, 2018. The Knicks fired coach Jeff Hornacek early Thursday, making the decision shortly after beating Cleveland on Wednesday night to finish a 29-53 season. They lost more than 50 games and missed the playoffs both seasons under Hornacek. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The New York Knicks parted ways with team president Steve Mills, the team announced on Tuesday.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium initially reported the news, noting Scott Perry will take over basketball operations on an interim basis.

ESPN's Adrian Wojarnowski added "it is expected" that Perry will still be the general manager for the "foreseeable future."

Charania pointed out the team has already turned the page:

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Knicks and James Dolan have begun interviewing for President of Basketball Operations position, league source tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

Wojnarowski reported the Knicks have a possible replacement in mind:

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
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.

According to Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, owner Jim Dolan is "considering" hiring a top executive from a list of player agents. That is what the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers did with Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka, respectively.

Along those lines, Ian Begley of SNY reported Austin Brown of Creative Artists Agency has received "internal consideration for the Knicks' presidency opening." Zion Williamson, D'Angelo Russell, Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kuzma are among Brown's list of clients.

Mills' tenure with the Knicks began in 2013 as executive vice president and general manager before he became president in 2017 when Phil Jackson left the role.

Rumblings that Mills' time as president was limited came after New York fired head coach David Fizdale on Dec. 6. Fizdale was let go less than two seasons into his tenure, going 4-18 to start the 2019-20 season and 21-83 overall since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

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The Athletic's Frank Isola reported Dec. 7 that Mills "will either be reassigned or simply removed from the building." The New York Post's Marc Berman also reported that Mills was "on shaky ground until his struggling team shows progress to owner James Dolan's liking."

The Knicks are 15-36 on the season.