Knicks Rumors: Clarity as to why NYK, Steve Mills parted ways

Steve Mills was one of the longest-tenured executives in the NBA. It wasn’t until the Kristaps Porzingis trade that the New York Knicks decided to move on.

The New York Knicks have provided fans with a painful number of reasons for pessimism over the past 20 years. The latest in the long line of questionable decisions arrived in February of 2019, when New York traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks.

A recent report states that the Porzingis trade, as well as the underwhelming short-term return, proved to be the undoing of former team president Steve Mills.

Mills has worked in the NBA since 1984, with his start coming as an account executive for the Association itself. He’d been with the Knicks since 2003, initially receiving the position of COO of Madison Square Garden itself.

According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the reason that Mills’ tenure as Knicks team president ended was the short-term result of the aforementioned Porzingis trade.

"Adding insult to injury was that Smith, the Knicks’ prized athletic acquisition from the Mavericks, laid an egg in 2019-20. The Porzingis trade was Mills’ undoing, according to multiple sources."

The Porzingis trade could still prove fruitful, but it’s clear that the lack of a short-term reward ultimately cost Mills his job.

Porzingis was traded for a number of assets in February of 2019, including point guard Dennis Smith Jr.—a player whom fans had clamored for since the 2017 NBA Draft. The narrative was actually that New York missed the mark by drafting Frank Ntilikina over Smith.

Unfortunately, Smith’s Knicks tenure has been less than memorable, as he’s struggled to find playing time under both David Fizdale and Mike Miller.

Compounded by the fact that the Knicks went as far as to sign Elfrid Payton to fill the void that remained at point guard, James Dolan was clearly unwilling to accept this trade as a plus.

Porzingis infamously approached the Knicks directly about his desires and intentions. According to the front office, the Latvian big man provided an ultimatum that forced the Knicks’ hand: Trade me or I’m going back to Europe.

Being that Porzingis has been helping the Mavericks play at a postseason level in 2019-20, and Smith has barely seen the court, the writing appears to have been on the wall.

The New York Knicks could still cash in on the two future first-round draft picks they received, but we now have an answer as to why Steve Mills was replaced by Leon Rose.