Knicks: GM Scott Perry might not be done in New York

Last season David Fizdale was fired after 22 games and outside of a few nice moments from interim head coach Mike Miller, there was a whole lot of losing. However, Scott Perry was the orchestrator of one of the few bright moments. The veteran-executive traded hot-shooting Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package that included a first-round pick. The pick became the 27th pick in the draft, and on draft day, it was packaged, along with the 38th pick to move up to 23 and then swapped again with the 25th pick where the Knicks eventually selected Immanuel Quickley.

There might be some that will say that getting a first-round pick for Morris was an easy layup. But given Mills’ firing and the lack of stability surrounding the organization, Perry maintained a cool and steady hand during a time of need. This was also impressive considering that Golden State could not garner a first round-pick for Alec Burks when he was traded to the 76ers. Burks, with the Warriors, was averaging 16 points per game and shooting just over 37 percent from the three-point line. Burks, of course, is having a great year with the Knicks this season.

Of course, drafting Quickley is not solely credited to Scott Perry alone. Leon Rose’s Kentucky connections, which include Knicks’ assistant coach Kenny Payne certainly influenced the decision, but Perry’s previous work laid the foundation. And since then, Quickley has done nothing short of vault himself into the rookie of the year conversation, thus becoming one the Knicks most promising young prospects. The 21-year old guard is averaging just over 12 points per game, shooting 37 percent from the three-point line and 94 percent from the free-throw line.