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

Scott Perry helped the Knicks dodge a serious bullet by ridding the team of an unworthy Unicorn

It’s been over two years since the Porzingis trade to the Dallas Mavericks. Since returning from his ACL-tear, KP’s play has been up and down, to the point that, some fans have even advocated for the former All-Start to be traded. From a Knicks perspective, you can’t tie this move completely to Scott Perry. Mills was the president of basketball operations at the time and was very vocal, post-trade, regarding the reasons for the deal. That being said, as we sit here today, the Knicks actually have more wins than the Mavericks. And if the Mavs continue to struggle, one of the first-round picks, owed to the Knicks as part of the KP deal, will look very attractive this offseason.

Additionally, as a player, Porzingis has not really improved. His blocks per game and rebounds per game have dropped since last season, and he’s only hitting the league average efficiency in three-point percentage while taking over six threes a game. Fans have become aggravated with his lack of defense and he’s owed over $90 million over the next three seasons.

In the end, it will take at least two more seasons to fully evaluate the KP trade, however, you have to credit Perry’s foresight, whether it was due to lack of trust in Porzingis’ ability to stay healthy consistently, or because he asked for the trade, the deal has Perry’s fingerprints on it.

There will be a lot of fans eager to see Rose replace Scott Perry as GM, and maybe to slot in Brock Aller as the heir apparent. But if you look closely, and starting with the Carmelo Anthony trade, Perry has been bringing the Knicks closer to respectability. Are all of his drafts and signings bullet-proof? No. Should he be held accountable for last year’s free-agency where there was a poor fit between the vets brought in and young guys with a young developing head coach? Absolutely.

But if Perry strikes again, before the trade deadline, expect that Rose’s decision to hire his own GM won’t be a foregone conclusion.  The Knicks burgeoning culture is credit, first and foremost to head coach Tom Thibodeau, and the players, but Perry has certainly added to it, and he might not be done.