The New York Knicks' front office took a plethora of unconventional paths to building the 2026 NBA Champions. It didn't get them much credit during the course of their journey. Now that they've reached the top of the NBA's proverbial mountain, though, things seem to be changing.
Leon Rose's group came in at 7th overall on CBS Sports' February edition of their biannual NBA front office rankings. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics have always come in first and second, respectively, on these lists thus far. After New York ended their 53-year championship drought, though, things look different.
Quinn ranks front offices based on categories like their success in the trade and free agency markets, their draft history, whether or not they seem to have a coherent plan, their creativity, malleability, and more. And while the 2025 champions in Oklahoma City still rank atop his list, the Knicks displaced the Celtics in second. Rose always deserved Executive of the Year over Brad Stevens, but didn't get the nod. The Larry O'Brien — and kudos from Quinn — will have to do for now.
Leon Rose is finally getting his flowers after years of being questioned
Leon Rose and his crew of top executives were ridiculed nationally for being the first front office in league history to give a zero-time All-Star — that they didn't draft — a $100 million contract.
They were questioned for trading out of the 19th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to land Cameron Reddish. And when they eventually flipped him, with a pick from their predecessors' infamous Kristaps Porzingis trade, for Josh Hart.
They raised eyebrows worldwide when they dealt two core members of their starting lineup, in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, for an All-Star center in Karl-Anthony Towns. He was arguably known just as much for his defensive struggles as his offensive talents. That past January, they had seen the best month of Knicks basketball in decades with Randle, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby on the court.
It was somewhat ironic, given they were lambasted by their own fanbase for trading two key members of the team's young core, in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, for a wing in OG Anunoby that had never made an All-Star team. He had semi-consistently struggled with injuries throughout his young career thus far, and reportedly wanted more of a role and payday than the Knicks could seemingly accommodate.
It was nothing, though, compared to the reaction to Rose's decision to trade five first-round draft selections to the crosstown Brooklyn Nets. Especially given that he did so in exchange for another off-ball wing, who had never received All-Star honors of any kind, in Mikal Bridges.
There's a reason Rose's masterclasses didn't get credit at the time
Go figure. Rose probably didn't win Executive of the Year in 2026, which is voted on by the NBA's top decision-makers, because they were the same teams that dealt him all of those players.
The Knicks didn't draft any of their starting five. They plucked them away from rival teams one at a time. When that lineup became a championship-winning starting lineup, New York's ends of those deals inherently became the winning ones.
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