Go ahead and add senior vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to the growing number of exits the New York Knicks have incurred this summer. Much like the other departures, as well as near-misses, the team should have seen this coming after ending its 53-year championship drought.
Winning at the highest level puts the entire organization on the radar. It doesn’t matter that the Knicks, being the Knicks, were already on the map. From players and coaches to scouts and front office executives, everyone is a hotter commodity now.
This makes sense when you think about it. Other teams want what the Knicks have. What better way to improve your chances of getting it than by poaching key figures responsible for helping get it elsewhere?
In Rosas’ case, he is leaving to explore other opportunities. As someone who was, roughly, the third-highest ranking front office executive, this reasoning is code for “He wants to run his own team again.”
That opportunity isn’t out there right now. You know what, though? It would never have been available in New York. After banking a title, team president Leon Rose likely has an open-ended invite to run the squad for as long as he pleases.
Rosas nevertheless has the sheen of aiding a championship victory to help him secure an elevated role that leads to the gig he really wants long term. More than that, he’s not the only one the Knicks have lost as a result of their championship spoils.
New York’s players are already generating more interest
Mitchell Robinson is the most of the Knicks' departures. Owner James Dolan’s refusal to pay the second apron always left him on the chopping block. But an organization as (historically) savvy as the Boston Celtics doesn’t pony up three years and $47.4 million, with a player option to boot, for an injury-prone second-stringer if he didn’t contribute to a title.
New York also just lost Trey Jemison III to the Toronto Raptors. He remains on a two-way contract, as he was with the Knicks. But he’s probably still left unsigned, waiting for New York to plot out a potentially surprising move, if he doesn’t have the championship glow.
Don’t forget about the Knicks’ near-exits, either. Landry Shamet is only back in the Big Apple because he was willing to turn down bigger-money contracts from other squads. Associate head coach Chris Jent also interviewed for the Portland Trail Blazers’ head-coaching vacancy before it went to Micah Nori.
The Knicks should be grateful they haven’t suffered more organizational blows under the circumstances. Jose Alvarado could have left in free agency. Ditto for Mohamed Diawara.
Mind you, this isn’t to say Rosas is the final name to go.
The Knicks better get used to being on the defensive
If teams really want to hurt New York, they’ll go after salary-cap magician Brock Aller at some point in the near future. You can bet your bottom dollar that somebody from Mike Brown’s staff is getting a higher-profile gig by the 2027-28 season, too.
This says nothing of Karl-Anthony Towns potentially entering free agency next summer if he and the Knicks can’t hammer out an extension. New York might also trade Deuce McBride in anticipation of him getting too much money as a free agent in 2027 himself.
Feel free to rationalize the Robinson departure and dismiss the Rosas exit should you see fit. Just know that these minor wrinkles are only the beginning.
The rest of the NBA is coming for who the Knicks have—players, coaches, executives, the whole shebang.
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