NY Knicks: 3 reasons why Leon Rose deserves Executive of the Year award

To be honest, when the NY Knicks brought Leon Rose on to be their President of Basketball Operations in March of 2020, I wasn’t too sure what to think.

Obviously, he had a tremendous track record of representing some of the NBA’s elite such as Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Carmelo Anthony, and so on.

But would he be able to replicate the same success that other former agents like Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka have had before him?

It seems to be the move to make nowadays if you want your team to be built the right way because these guys know what players are actually worth and also have developed incredible relationships with a lot of them over the years.

Former agents have the trust of the stars they represent whereas the General Managers in the league of course only have the team’s best interest in mind from the jump.

Just one year in his position, Rose has the Knicks in the 4th seed in the East with a record of 35-28 and in a position where they’d be hosting their first playoff matchup in Madison Square Garden.

A far cry from where we as fans believed they’d be.

A small but impactful move Rose made soon after being hired was cutting fan-favorite Allonzo Trier and replacing him with Theo Pinson.

A puzzling move to say the least at the time, but since then, our opinions as fans have changed dramatically on both how good Trier actually is as well as how important Theo Pinson has become to today’s Knicks roster.

Should NY Knicks President Leon Rose with Executive of the Year?

Before I get into highlighting the moves Leon Rose has actually made, I just want to take a second and touch on the moves he didn’t make which are nearly as important.

Firstly, not trading off any of the young talents on the roster like RJ Barrett or Mitchell Robinson before the season began.

Imagine where the team would be had either of those guys been moved…

Second, I want to commend Rose for not getting overly aggressive at this past trade deadline, as he could have easily broken the bank for a guy like Lonzo Ball but decided to stay put and if anything, he can approach that situation again in the offseason.

Most importantly, he may not have to do away with any draft capital to acquire Ball, so kudos to Rose and his discipline.

Here we’ll be diving into some of the most prominent moves Leon Rose has made and why I believe he should win Executive of the Year.