Missing out on Jalen Brunson would be Leon Rose’s first Knicks failure
By Max Hoover
Leon Rose needs Jalen Brunson to be on the New York Knicks roster starting next season. It will be Rose’s first absolute failure as Knicks President of Basketball Operations if Brunson plays anywhere else.
Set aside Brunson’s on-court fit for the duration of this article. Fans could debate the merits of a Brunson signing at his rumored price tag ad infinitum. They could argue it til the cows come home, as we say down south, but today’s conversation isn’t about basketball.
No, today’s conversation is about business, and it’s about family business at that.
When Rose was hired to helm the Knicks in March 2020, the theme of every take was that James Dolan had handed the keys over to a man who would need to leverage his years of connections as a player agent to rebuild the franchise. He is less basketball savant and more sports world Don Corleone.
Rose would only find success with New York by being himself, and he arguably has no deeper connections with any current player in the NBA than Brunson. Signing Brunson isn’t calling an old co-worker to fill a role at your new job. Signing Brunson is calling a family member to ask for a kidney.
If Leon Rose has any real shot at rebuilding the Knicks, he needs to leverage his deep connections and sign Jalen Brunson as proof of concept.
There is no need to beat a dead horse on the connections between the Knicks regime and Brunson, but let’s hit some highlights. Brunson’s father, Rick, was Rose’s first client as an agent. The elder Brunson has also worked with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau at multiple stops and recently joined the Knicks staff. Rose’s son is one of the younger Brunson’s agents. The list goes on and on.
Rose’s moves on draft night are a gamble. By foregoing the guaranteed lottery pick player in the name of cap flexibility, ostensibly with the sole focus of signing Brunson, he has bet his deep connections with the Brunson family could solve New York’s point guard issue.
Rose is dancing with who brung him. However, if Brunson chooses to continue his Merengue with the Mavericks, Knicks fans will begin to question if their president can truly cut a rug.
