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.
Reason #1 – Leon Rose drafted Quickley for the NY Knicks
Not often do you find the steal of the draft at the 25th overall pick, but the Knicks did just that.
Immanuel Quickley has played such an integral role in the Knicks becoming who they are today.
He’s a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender and while he may not win it, his play on the court and work ethic off the court has ‘quickley’ won over the hearts of fans.
See what I did there?
Yaron Weitzman of the NY Post wrote a great piece which I do urge anyone reading this to check out back in early March, detailing how Quickley was acquired and why, amongst many other interesting topics.
Apparently, the Quickley pick was a lot more to do with Knicks’ Executive World Wide Wes demanding Leon grab the Kentucky sharpshooter more so than anything, but the pick was Leon’s to make.
Sitting at the 23rd pick, the Knicks were presented with a trade from the TImberwolves where they would move back to pick 25 and also acquire pick 33 in the 2nd round.
With 10 seconds left to spare, Leon Rose pulled the trigger on the deal.
Not to get into too much detail with what happened with that 33rd overall pick, the Knicks went on to select Immanuel Quickley who was viewed as a middling 2nd round pick at best.
CBS Sports will hear it from Knicks fans until the end of time for giving the Quickley pick a grade of a D+.
Rose had the wherewithal and the right team beneath him to not only put together a trade package where the Knicks would acquire more draft capital but to also draft someone who is in the top 5 best rookies to play this year on any given night.
Unless he’s used in a package to acquire a massive superstar, I see Quickley being a part of this Knicks organization for many years to come, whereas most players drafted in the bottom portion of the 1st round barely see the court for most of their careers.
Leon Rose turned Ed Davis into 3 2nd round picks for the NY Knicks
Coming into this season, it was widely believed that the Knicks would be somewhere near the bottom of the totem pole yet again, and would be making moves for the future as opposed to bolstering their roster for the present.
Boy, were we all wrong…
While a lot of the moves Leon Rose has made were all geared toward the future, no one anticipated everyone on the team stepping things up the way they have under Coach Thibodeau.
Regardless, on November 19th the Knicks traded for Ed Davis from the Jazz which looked like a bit of a salary dump at the time.
The Knicks also acquired not one, but TWO 2nd round picks in the highly-touted 2023 ‘double draft’.
In 2023, the league is switching up its requirements for players coming into the league and will start accepting players directly from high school instead of being at least one year removed.
This draft in particular will have an influx of college-level talents as well some very talented names coming straight into the league after their Senior proms.
Just that move on its own would have been impressive…but wait, there’s more!
Instead of just absorbing Davis’ salary and calling it a day after acquiring 2 nifty little draft picks, the Knicks went on to trade him just 3 days later over to the TImberwolves in exchange for Omari Spellman, Jacob Evans, and yet ANOTHER future 2nd rounder.
That pick ended up being a pick in the 2026 draft.
There’s only one true way to define both of those moves – savvy.
Leon Rose trading for Derrick Rose changed the NY Knicks’ season outlook
Imagine trading a 2nd round pick that’ll be near the end of the next draft and a player who really isn’t all that good at basketball and receiving back arguably the 3rd best player on the playoff-bound team.
That’s exactly what happened when the Knicks traded a 2021 2nd and Dennis Smith Jr for Derrick Rose.
As his Knicks tenure has grown, so have his minutes as well as the impact he’s had on the floor.
Leon Rose and Co. saw that they may have something special brewing with this Knicks team early on, and when Coach Thibs came asking for an upgrade at point guard, Leon answered.
Acquiring Derrick Rose for next to nothing is just the type of move we as fans should all come to expect from this front office from here on forward.
The team has been exponentially better with D-Rose than without.
The team has a 19-8 record since the acquisition and Rose has played a massive role in their success thus far.
For example, without Rose, the Knicks probably wouldn’t have put up as good a fight against the Suns earlier this week.
He finished the game with 22 points, 6 boards, and 6 dimes but some of those buckets were in clutch moments as were some of the assists he dished out.
I could see the Knicks opting to not bring Rose back at the end of this season but in all likelihood, he will be back next year and will continue to pay dividends on the trade we sent to Detroit for his services.
Whether he is back or not, this is yet another feather in Leon’s cap.