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Knicks rumors: Masai Ujiri eyed as Steve Mills’ potential replacement

By Rob Wolkenbrod

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 09: General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri looks on during NBA Finals - Practice and Media Availability on June 9, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 09: General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri looks on during NBA Finals - Practice and Media Availability on June 9, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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As the fallout of David Fizdale’s firing continues, the New York Knicks’ president may be the next organizational figure to go.

If there was any doubt about the next steps for the New York Knicks, they have seemingly emerged. Per Frank Isola of The Athletic, president Steve Mills is not just on the hot seat, but expected to be “reassigned or simply removed from the building.”

Mills was the orchestrator of the failed offseason, that saw the Knicks lose out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency. With $70 million still available, a Julius Randle and Marcus Morris-headlined group came in and have since won just four times through 23 games.

Plus, this isn’t Mills’ first go-around in a front-office role. He took over for the fired Glen Grunwald as general manager in 2013; stepped back when Phil Jackson became the president of basketball operations in 2014; and he rose to the top of the executive chain once the “Zen Master” was fired in 2017.

The results have been unremarkable, and not just the 2019 offseason. Mills has been in the front office of two 17-65 teams and zero playoff appearances since Grunwald’s departure. He also worked the Kristaps Porzingis trade, which netted the Knicks cap space, the regressing Dennis Smith Jr. and two first-round draft picks.

The potential replacement, as Isola previously reported: the Toronto Raptors’ Masai Ujiri. Marc Berman of the New York Post confirmed that with a separate report Saturday, with owner James Dolan likely to “renew his quest” for the NBA Finals-winning president.

For having any desire to leave a good situation in Toronto for the Knicks, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck said Ujiri “would be intrigued by the challenge of fixing the Knicks” and wants a bigger stage for his “Giants of Africa” charity work.

It’s the lure of yet another big name, although Jackson did not have front office qualifications upon taking the job; Dolan handed him $12 million per season to take the role.

However, Ujiri has the resume, from his time in the Denver Nuggets front office and, of course, the title-winning season in Toronto, preluded by the Kawhi Leonard trade with the San Antonio Spurs. He also fleeced the Knicks at both destinations, with the Carmelo Anthony trade in Denver and the Andrea Bargnani trade in Toronto.

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Sweeping changes are ahead for the New York Knicks. The 2019-20 season is hardly over, but the focus has already turned to whatever’s next for this chaotic franchise.

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