The CAA Spin Machine

[gavran]

I am not going to lie CAA has me reconsidering my views on nepotism and insider trading….

Nepotism is only an issue when your relatives suck.

[RHODEY]

Windhorst def thinks we will get someone. Bill Simmons says he thinks it only a matter of time and thinks Mikal Bridges is the ideal fit (I guess all depending on if the Nets can make another move) because keeping Bridges at some of his peak value on a bad team makes no sense for a high end role player.

It doesn't need to be a name star. It could just be someone that is seen as a very effective two-way player in a similar light as OG. Like he's not in the conversation as one of the best players in the league but he's one of the best two-way players and if we determine that players impact to help put us over the top).

I think we def need more size whether thats at guard or at the wing. It doesn't sound like Embiid is realistic anymore especially not with the jump Maxey made this playoffs and Sixers probably try to add to that roster with there space.

I think the mold for the NBA is have two high level offensive players and then have a team structure and identity with the rest of the players that are impactful and buy in.

Suns fizzled out because they had no team...they had 3 high level scorers but didn't have depth or role players.

Mavs playing well - Luka/Kyrie but then have guys like Josh Green, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford/Lively ect
Twolves - Ant/KAT with basically just role players and defenders. Naz Reid type having a big impact
Boston - Tatum/Brown and then to a lesser extent KP (but they got those elite role players like Whie/Jrue

even a team like Indy with Haliburton and Siakam are the two name players but those guys like Turner/Nesmith/McConnell really impacting playoff games.

probably getting something similar with Sixers.

Now obviously if Giannis becomes available sure...but if not I don't know who that player is. Paul George probably would be a good fit but the age and injury concerns worry me. I don't know if there is a younger version of him available but that type of player.

Spot on. The days of 3 superstars taking up 90% of a team's cap are over.

F*ck the Pacers. I don't respect them. But look at the remaining clubs:

Minnesota: Ant-Man, 3 high level bigs, a good PG, young wings.

Dallas: Luka, Kyrie, defenders and shooters

Boston: Tatum, Brown, and a high end supporting cast

It's all about having the most complete team now and not doing what Brooklyn and Phoenix did, just throwing 3 super max contracts together and praying it works. It's not 2010.

This roster is already set even if no moves are made. But obviously, some retooling is in order because Thibs at least needs 9 to 10 guys he can trust to play at all times.

minny will have 3 stars all on max deals next year though. gobert is a star, it's just not on offense. the celtics start 4 guys who have been all-stars and will have the most expensive starting 5 in the history of basketball. they have 4 guys making over 30 this year and in 2 years 2 of those guys will be making 50 each. you guys are kind of twisting the rules to fit this narrative. you can win with 2 or 3 if it's the right players. people point to the suns but maybe that's just a bad threesome and not the example that sets the rule. the clippers looked pretty good when healthy with their big 3. and sure you need good role players but you always needed some of those.

Exactly, and when PG13 goes to Philly they'll have 3 stars.... 3 Stars don't work if the are redundant and/or the team lacks depth, but it can work. But watching the Dallas, Boston, and Minny makes me think that even though we are contenders when healthy if we can add talent we should.... and when I say add I mean just that....not creating a hole at PF to add talent somewhere else....So really its about adding what you can without moving Randle....essentially Mikal bridges or bust. Barring that run it back.... we got the 2 stars (JR and JB) and just fill in the gaps with a young drafted talent, Rokas etc.

[nedleeds]

Eventually Dolan will wake up and realize we're capped out, injured, hopeless

So what we were before big bad CAA came into the picture?

The kool aid is fine for now thanks.

Atlantic division champions in a weak East and a 2nd round exit to the Pacers actually. We had an All NBA scoring machine on that team also.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-pacers-knicks-hibbert-carmelo-anthony-block

[kNicksGmen]

Eventually Dolan will wake up and realize we're capped out, injured, hopeless

So what we were before big bad CAA came into the picture?

The kool aid is fine for now thanks.

Atlantic division champions in a weak East and a 2nd round exit to the Pacers actually. We had an All NBA scoring machine on that team also.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-pacers-knicks-hibbert-carmelo-anthony-block

that team was primed for the future with their rotation full of players in their primes on great value contracts along with all their first round picks going forward right? ... o wait

[WargamesX]

I am not going to lie CAA has me reconsidering my views on nepotism and insider trading….

Nepotism is only an issue when your relatives suck.

Most people suck, I actually think a better answer is it’s only not an issue when your relatives are really good if not superior for the role. Like it’s a “them taking the role is as a favor to you” type situation.

[KnicksGadfly]

Damn I gotta post more CAA articles...CAA IS EVERYWHERE. This one is free and from Howard Beck, who I see as a solid Knicks writer, too. Long article, so I'll cut some paragraphs out.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/5/23/24163000/new-york-knicks-trade-rumors-leon-rose-james-dolan

To date, the Knicks under Rose have not recruited, signed, or poached an established superstar or landed any of the glitzy CAA clients whose names were floated in 2020 (though they did make attempts). Instead, they got Brunson, who was not a star by any definition when they signed him away from Dallas in 2022, to a four-year, $104 million contract that was widely (and prematurely) derided as an overpay.

They also have not done anything flashy, splashy, or headline-grabbing—no swing-for-the-fences trades, no future-mortgaging bids for marquee names just for the sake of winning the back page of the tabloids. In other words, none of the rash mistakes that doomed nearly every other Knicks front office for the past 20 years.

What the Knicks have assembled, instead, is a sound, sustainable, built-for-the-2020s foundation, with an emerging superstar just entering his prime, role players with room to grow, and a full cache of draft picks still available for some future blockbuster trade. They have both talent and flexibility (or “optionality,” as GMs call it). And perhaps just as critically, the Knicks have regained respectability around the league, after years of ineptitude, humiliation, and self-inflicted wounds.

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the Knicks have an identifiable identity, a clearheaded vision, and, critically, an apparent patience from the top that should allow the good vibes to continue.

There’s been a little luck involved, too, something Knicks officials would be the first to acknowledge … that is, if Knicks officials spoke publicly.

As a matter of practice, Rose does not do interviews with the news media. Nor does anyone else on his behalf, leaving only the famously reticent Thibodeau to provide any insight into team philosophy—which he does not. (While the NBA mandates that players and coaches speak regularly to the media, there are no such rules governing team presidents or GMs.)

But through four years of transactions, of choices made and paths not taken, a reasonably clear picture of a more pragmatic, more functional, less impulsive—and less pressured—front office has emerged. So how did the NBA’s most infamously dysfunctional franchise suddenly become so widely respected? The following is based on interviews with numerous league insiders, some with Knicks ties, over the past month. All asked for anonymity to preserve relationships.

Start with the biggest path not taken: a trade for Mitchell, the All-Star guard, New York native, and CAA client. Two summers ago, not long after signing Brunson, the Knicks also made an aggressive bid to obtain Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. But the price proved too steep, the Knicks balked, and the Jazz sent him to Cleveland instead. For the Knicks, it was a true sliding doors moment, a perceived setback that arguably turned into a blessing.

Knicks officials at the time had no expectation that Brunson—a second-round pick who had spent four years as Luka Doncic’s understudy—would become the scoring, playmaking maestro who has emerged over the past two years, peaking with his fifth-place finish in this year’s MVP balloting. (As one source said, “Jalen is probably the only person who saw this coming.”) And if the ball-dominant Mitchell were in New York, Brunson likely would’ve never reached these heights, because both guards need the rock to thrive and to lead. A backcourt with two smaller guards would have also compromised the Knicks defense.

Brunson has reached or exceeded Mitchell’s level as a star, and for $10 million less per year. But it would be too glib to call this a case of luck. Yes, they wanted Mitchell, though there was some internal debate. But sources say they took a disciplined approach to negotiations, deciding from the start that they would not gut their cache of assets—both draft picks and young players—to get him. The Knicks “had an understanding” of where the line was, a source said, so they could “continue to add pieces” if they landed Mitchell. And it was not an easy line to hold. Mitchell, by all accounts, wanted to play for his hometown team. Fans wanted him. And Brunson was not yet the celestial phenomenon he’s since become. It would have been easy to cave to the pressure and give the city the jolt of stardom it craved.

No one wanted a repeat of the 2011 Carmelo Anthony trade, in which the Knicks—with Dolan overriding Donnie Walsh’s front office—pushed in every chip to pry Anthony from Denver, leaving them with few tools to build around him. (Rose knew the details well, having been Anthony’s agent at the time.) In this instance, Rose held the line. And Dolan didn’t intercede, allowing his front office to make the call. “It takes restraint,” the same source said.

Of course, there’s still this hypothetical: What if the Jazz had accepted the Knicks’ final offer and Mitchell had ended up alongside Brunson and Julius Randle, with all of them needing touches and shots? You could argue the Knicks got lucky—or that their restraint produced the better outcome.

So much of the Knicks’ successful roster building can be traced back to that moment. R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley—two budding prospects who were involved in some iterations of the Mitchell talks—were instead traded to Toronto in December for defensive ace Anunoby. Quentin Grimes—another prospect sought by Utah—instead became the key piece in a February trade that netted the Knicks veteran scorers Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.

And the absence of Mitchell’s hefty contract made it easier for the Knicks to add valued role players such as DiVincenzo and Hart and to acquire Anunoby (who’s due for a big payday as a free agent this summer). “That actually helped them become a better team,” one rival executive said of the failed Mitchell bid.

Since Rose’s arrival, the Knicks have made the playoffs three times in four seasons, something they’d done only once this millennium. They’ve made the conference semifinals in back-to-back years—a feat the franchise last achieved in 1999 and 2000, when Ewing was its anchor (and Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks reserve). Thibodeau was an assistant coach then, and he’s infused the current Knicks with a resolve that evokes the glory years.

Of course, a demanding coach can’t succeed without players who embrace those demands. Brunson, who played through countless injuries and carried an increasingly heavy load after Randle was lost to injury, clearly fits the Thibs mold. So do Hart, Hartenstein, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby, all acquired by the front office in the past two years. But it took some time, and a few notable missteps, for the front office and the coach to get on the same page.

Under Rose, the Knicks have repeatedly found gems late in the draft, from Quickley (25th in 2020) to Grimes (25th in 2021) to McBride (36th in 2021). Their biggest whiff, oddly enough, came with their highest pick, in Rose’s first draft. Selecting eighth in 2020, the Knicks took Obi Toppin, a supremely athletic forward, and passed on Tyrese Haliburton, a multiskilled 6-foot-5 point guard, who would be taken four picks later, by Sacramento. Toppin never gained a consistent role behind Randle or enough faith from Thibodeau, and he was traded for a pair of second-round picks last summer—to Indiana, where he’s now teammates with Haliburton.

Of course, 10 other teams also passed on Haliburton. And no one consistently aces the draft. Even the most acclaimed GMs have their albatross. In any case, the Knicks’ misfires have been more than offset by their repeated success in acquiring hidden gems and maximizing them—not only Brunson (a second-round pick in Dallas), but Hart (now on his fourth team) and Hartenstein (fifth team), as well as Quickley, Grimes, and McBride.

While Rose’s CAA ties have not been as influential as some might have believed (or feared), they’ve surely played a role in this Knicks renaissance. But family ties have proved even more potent. Rose’s son, Sam, is a CAA agent whose clients include Anunoby. Rick Brunson was one of Leon Rose’s first clients. And, of course, the Knicks hired Rick as an assistant coach while recruiting Jalen as a free agent. The NBA later found the Knicks guilty of violating anti-tampering rules and docked them a second-round pick. But tampering is a way of life in the NBA. Even some rivals who say the Knicks are particularly brazen about it will say they grudgingly admire it.

Of course, it’s one thing to achieve relevance and another to sustain it. The Garden rocked as hard as it ever has for three weeks in 2012, when Jeremy Lin turned into a worldwide sensation, but his stardom (and his Knicks tenure) proved illusory. The Knicks caught fire the next season, winning 54 games behind Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and J.R. Smith and making the conference semis. But the roster wasn’t built to last, and the Knicks cratered to 37 wins the next season and never made the playoffs again during the Carmelo era.

As in 2012-13, the current Knicks exceeded preseason expectations and hit the 50-win mark during a down year in the Eastern Conference. There’s some skepticism around the league about the Knicks’ ability to keep pace once recent contenders like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Miami get healthy—and with young teams like Indiana and Orlando on the rise. But unlike a decade ago, this Knicks team is powered by players just entering their primes, with a manageable payroll (for now) and a war chest of draft picks to use as trade chips.

The Knicks own all of their future first-round picks and have four others coming—from Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Washington—in the next two years. Which means they are well-positioned to make that long-awaited blockbuster when the opportunity arises—and one always arises. If Booker or Towns or some discontented superstar becomes available, rivals expect the Knicks to pounce. But if the past four years have shown us anything, it’s that the Knicks will take a measured approach. And having Brunson in the fold means they can negotiate without their former desperation.

For most of the past two decades, the Knicks were the NBA’s most profligate spenders and among the least attentive to salary cap management, unless they were dumping contracts to chase a superstar (LeBron James in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2019). Nor did they value draft picks, which they sent out in trades both big and small, often leaving them hamstrung.

Those trends have reversed under Rose’s front office, which he stocked with seasoned basketball executives—including Walt Perrin, Gersson Rosas, Brock Aller, and Frank Zanin—all of whom had success elsewhere and, critically, had the day-to-day experience that Rose and Wesley lacked when they first leaped from CAA to the Garden. When rival GMs call the Knicks to discuss potential deals, it often starts with Rose’s trusted lieutenants, sources said.

Under Rose, the Knicks have operated more methodically, more conservatively, and more patiently than they did under any of his predecessors. Rose, according to sources, has empowered his staff and fostered a collaborative approach—a stark contrast to past administrations, in which internal politics and divergent agendas sometimes sabotaged the Knicks from within. Several longtime basketball operations officials were let go or reassigned after Rose took command.

Even in his years as one of the league’s premier power agents, Rose was known as fairly low-key and modest—traits that NBA sources say have served him well leading the Knicks.

And while the Knicks are undeniably and intimately connected to CAA, sources say they’ve fostered strong relationships with all of the major agencies. They’ve even reportedly patched things up with superagent (and former Rose protégé) Rich Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports, whose clients include LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and De’Aaron Fox.

The Knicks’ newfound success has also made them a much more attractive destination for players than they were half a decade ago, when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and others passed on the chance to play at the Garden in favor of more stable, functional franchises. Agents and players now view the Knicks as a desirable destination (even though Thibodeau polled as the coach players “least want to play for,” according to The Athletic’s anonymous survey).

“I think there is a higher trust level,” said a veteran agent who’s represented multiple All-NBA players. “They’re winning; everyone sees the passion of the fans. Guys who flourish under Thibs love him. I don’t have any reservations about putting anyone there.”

Of course, none of this would’ve mattered if Brunson hadn’t blossomed into a superstar capable of almost single-handedly uplifting the roster. And none of the smart drafting, trading, and bookkeeping will matter much, either, if the Knicks can’t sustain this momentum. They have to re-sign Anunoby and Hartenstein this summer and eventually extend Brunson (for about double his current salary), which will push the Knicks’ payroll into the top tier and make it much harder to add peripheral talent. Thibodeau, who is entering the last year of his contract, is also due for a raise and an extension, though insiders believe it’s a given.

As he heads into his fifth season, Thibodeau already ranks as the Knicks’ longest-tenured coach since Jeff Van Gundy, his former boss, who held the post from 1996 to 2001. By the middle of next season, Rose will have outlasted his last 10 predecessors, making him the Knicks’ longest-tenured basketball operations chief since Ernie Grunfeld in the 1990s, and the longest tenured since Dolan assumed control of the team in 1999.

One thing has not changed, however: The Knicks now, as ever, are in a perpetual hunt for another glitzy star—and Dolan, as ever, expects one. “That is factual,” said a source with ties to the Garden. The Rose-Wesley team “promised him stars,” the source said. “He didn’t hire them for their (experience) running a basketball team.” Had the Knicks faltered on the court the past two years, the person added, “You’d have seen the old Knicks that you’ve seen the last 24 years—some heads would have rolled.”

[KnixinSix]

Damn I gotta post more CAA articles...CAA IS EVERYWHERE. This one is free and from Howard Beck, who I see as a solid Knicks writer, too. Long article, so I'll cut some paragraphs out.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/5/23/24163000/new-york-knicks-trade-rumors-leon-rose-james-dolan

To date, the Knicks under Rose have not recruited, signed, or poached an established superstar or landed any of the glitzy CAA clients whose names were floated in 2020 (though they did make attempts). Instead, they got Brunson, who was not a star by any definition when they signed him away from Dallas in 2022, to a four-year, $104 million contract that was widely (and prematurely) derided as an overpay.

They also have not done anything flashy, splashy, or headline-grabbing—no swing-for-the-fences trades, no future-mortgaging bids for marquee names just for the sake of winning the back page of the tabloids. In other words, none of the rash mistakes that doomed nearly every other Knicks front office for the past 20 years.

What the Knicks have assembled, instead, is a sound, sustainable, built-for-the-2020s foundation, with an emerging superstar just entering his prime, role players with room to grow, and a full cache of draft picks still available for some future blockbuster trade. They have both talent and flexibility (or “optionality,” as GMs call it). And perhaps just as critically, the Knicks have regained respectability around the league, after years of ineptitude, humiliation, and self-inflicted wounds.

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the Knicks have an identifiable identity, a clearheaded vision, and, critically, an apparent patience from the top that should allow the good vibes to continue.

There’s been a little luck involved, too, something Knicks officials would be the first to acknowledge … that is, if Knicks officials spoke publicly.

As a matter of practice, Rose does not do interviews with the news media. Nor does anyone else on his behalf, leaving only the famously reticent Thibodeau to provide any insight into team philosophy—which he does not. (While the NBA mandates that players and coaches speak regularly to the media, there are no such rules governing team presidents or GMs.)

But through four years of transactions, of choices made and paths not taken, a reasonably clear picture of a more pragmatic, more functional, less impulsive—and less pressured—front office has emerged. So how did the NBA’s most infamously dysfunctional franchise suddenly become so widely respected? The following is based on interviews with numerous league insiders, some with Knicks ties, over the past month. All asked for anonymity to preserve relationships.

Start with the biggest path not taken: a trade for Mitchell, the All-Star guard, New York native, and CAA client. Two summers ago, not long after signing Brunson, the Knicks also made an aggressive bid to obtain Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. But the price proved too steep, the Knicks balked, and the Jazz sent him to Cleveland instead. For the Knicks, it was a true sliding doors moment, a perceived setback that arguably turned into a blessing.

Knicks officials at the time had no expectation that Brunson—a second-round pick who had spent four years as Luka Doncic’s understudy—would become the scoring, playmaking maestro who has emerged over the past two years, peaking with his fifth-place finish in this year’s MVP balloting. (As one source said, “Jalen is probably the only person who saw this coming.”) And if the ball-dominant Mitchell were in New York, Brunson likely would’ve never reached these heights, because both guards need the rock to thrive and to lead. A backcourt with two smaller guards would have also compromised the Knicks defense.

Brunson has reached or exceeded Mitchell’s level as a star, and for $10 million less per year. But it would be too glib to call this a case of luck. Yes, they wanted Mitchell, though there was some internal debate. But sources say they took a disciplined approach to negotiations, deciding from the start that they would not gut their cache of assets—both draft picks and young players—to get him. The Knicks “had an understanding” of where the line was, a source said, so they could “continue to add pieces” if they landed Mitchell. And it was not an easy line to hold. Mitchell, by all accounts, wanted to play for his hometown team. Fans wanted him. And Brunson was not yet the celestial phenomenon he’s since become. It would have been easy to cave to the pressure and give the city the jolt of stardom it craved.

No one wanted a repeat of the 2011 Carmelo Anthony trade, in which the Knicks—with Dolan overriding Donnie Walsh’s front office—pushed in every chip to pry Anthony from Denver, leaving them with few tools to build around him. (Rose knew the details well, having been Anthony’s agent at the time.) In this instance, Rose held the line. And Dolan didn’t intercede, allowing his front office to make the call. “It takes restraint,” the same source said.

Of course, there’s still this hypothetical: What if the Jazz had accepted the Knicks’ final offer and Mitchell had ended up alongside Brunson and Julius Randle, with all of them needing touches and shots? You could argue the Knicks got lucky—or that their restraint produced the better outcome.

So much of the Knicks’ successful roster building can be traced back to that moment. R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley—two budding prospects who were involved in some iterations of the Mitchell talks—were instead traded to Toronto in December for defensive ace Anunoby. Quentin Grimes—another prospect sought by Utah—instead became the key piece in a February trade that netted the Knicks veteran scorers Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.

And the absence of Mitchell’s hefty contract made it easier for the Knicks to add valued role players such as DiVincenzo and Hart and to acquire Anunoby (who’s due for a big payday as a free agent this summer). “That actually helped them become a better team,” one rival executive said of the failed Mitchell bid.

Since Rose’s arrival, the Knicks have made the playoffs three times in four seasons, something they’d done only once this millennium. They’ve made the conference semifinals in back-to-back years—a feat the franchise last achieved in 1999 and 2000, when Ewing was its anchor (and Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks reserve). Thibodeau was an assistant coach then, and he’s infused the current Knicks with a resolve that evokes the glory years.

Of course, a demanding coach can’t succeed without players who embrace those demands. Brunson, who played through countless injuries and carried an increasingly heavy load after Randle was lost to injury, clearly fits the Thibs mold. So do Hart, Hartenstein, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby, all acquired by the front office in the past two years. But it took some time, and a few notable missteps, for the front office and the coach to get on the same page.

Under Rose, the Knicks have repeatedly found gems late in the draft, from Quickley (25th in 2020) to Grimes (25th in 2021) to McBride (36th in 2021). Their biggest whiff, oddly enough, came with their highest pick, in Rose’s first draft. Selecting eighth in 2020, the Knicks took Obi Toppin, a supremely athletic forward, and passed on Tyrese Haliburton, a multiskilled 6-foot-5 point guard, who would be taken four picks later, by Sacramento. Toppin never gained a consistent role behind Randle or enough faith from Thibodeau, and he was traded for a pair of second-round picks last summer—to Indiana, where he’s now teammates with Haliburton.

Of course, 10 other teams also passed on Haliburton. And no one consistently aces the draft. Even the most acclaimed GMs have their albatross. In any case, the Knicks’ misfires have been more than offset by their repeated success in acquiring hidden gems and maximizing them—not only Brunson (a second-round pick in Dallas), but Hart (now on his fourth team) and Hartenstein (fifth team), as well as Quickley, Grimes, and McBride.

While Rose’s CAA ties have not been as influential as some might have believed (or feared), they’ve surely played a role in this Knicks renaissance. But family ties have proved even more potent. Rose’s son, Sam, is a CAA agent whose clients include Anunoby. Rick Brunson was one of Leon Rose’s first clients. And, of course, the Knicks hired Rick as an assistant coach while recruiting Jalen as a free agent. The NBA later found the Knicks guilty of violating anti-tampering rules and docked them a second-round pick. But tampering is a way of life in the NBA. Even some rivals who say the Knicks are particularly brazen about it will say they grudgingly admire it.

Of course, it’s one thing to achieve relevance and another to sustain it. The Garden rocked as hard as it ever has for three weeks in 2012, when Jeremy Lin turned into a worldwide sensation, but his stardom (and his Knicks tenure) proved illusory. The Knicks caught fire the next season, winning 54 games behind Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and J.R. Smith and making the conference semis. But the roster wasn’t built to last, and the Knicks cratered to 37 wins the next season and never made the playoffs again during the Carmelo era.

As in 2012-13, the current Knicks exceeded preseason expectations and hit the 50-win mark during a down year in the Eastern Conference. There’s some skepticism around the league about the Knicks’ ability to keep pace once recent contenders like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Miami get healthy—and with young teams like Indiana and Orlando on the rise. But unlike a decade ago, this Knicks team is powered by players just entering their primes, with a manageable payroll (for now) and a war chest of draft picks to use as trade chips.

The Knicks own all of their future first-round picks and have four others coming—from Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Washington—in the next two years. Which means they are well-positioned to make that long-awaited blockbuster when the opportunity arises—and one always arises. If Booker or Towns or some discontented superstar becomes available, rivals expect the Knicks to pounce. But if the past four years have shown us anything, it’s that the Knicks will take a measured approach. And having Brunson in the fold means they can negotiate without their former desperation.

For most of the past two decades, the Knicks were the NBA’s most profligate spenders and among the least attentive to salary cap management, unless they were dumping contracts to chase a superstar (LeBron James in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2019). Nor did they value draft picks, which they sent out in trades both big and small, often leaving them hamstrung.

Those trends have reversed under Rose’s front office, which he stocked with seasoned basketball executives—including Walt Perrin, Gersson Rosas, Brock Aller, and Frank Zanin—all of whom had success elsewhere and, critically, had the day-to-day experience that Rose and Wesley lacked when they first leaped from CAA to the Garden. When rival GMs call the Knicks to discuss potential deals, it often starts with Rose’s trusted lieutenants, sources said.

Under Rose, the Knicks have operated more methodically, more conservatively, and more patiently than they did under any of his predecessors. Rose, according to sources, has empowered his staff and fostered a collaborative approach—a stark contrast to past administrations, in which internal politics and divergent agendas sometimes sabotaged the Knicks from within. Several longtime basketball operations officials were let go or reassigned after Rose took command.

Even in his years as one of the league’s premier power agents, Rose was known as fairly low-key and modest—traits that NBA sources say have served him well leading the Knicks.

And while the Knicks are undeniably and intimately connected to CAA, sources say they’ve fostered strong relationships with all of the major agencies. They’ve even reportedly patched things up with superagent (and former Rose protégé) Rich Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports, whose clients include LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and De’Aaron Fox.

The Knicks’ newfound success has also made them a much more attractive destination for players than they were half a decade ago, when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and others passed on the chance to play at the Garden in favor of more stable, functional franchises. Agents and players now view the Knicks as a desirable destination (even though Thibodeau polled as the coach players “least want to play for,” according to The Athletic’s anonymous survey).

“I think there is a higher trust level,” said a veteran agent who’s represented multiple All-NBA players. “They’re winning; everyone sees the passion of the fans. Guys who flourish under Thibs love him. I don’t have any reservations about putting anyone there.”

Of course, none of this would’ve mattered if Brunson hadn’t blossomed into a superstar capable of almost single-handedly uplifting the roster. And none of the smart drafting, trading, and bookkeeping will matter much, either, if the Knicks can’t sustain this momentum. They have to re-sign Anunoby and Hartenstein this summer and eventually extend Brunson (for about double his current salary), which will push the Knicks’ payroll into the top tier and make it much harder to add peripheral talent. Thibodeau, who is entering the last year of his contract, is also due for a raise and an extension, though insiders believe it’s a given.

As he heads into his fifth season, Thibodeau already ranks as the Knicks’ longest-tenured coach since Jeff Van Gundy, his former boss, who held the post from 1996 to 2001. By the middle of next season, Rose will have outlasted his last 10 predecessors, making him the Knicks’ longest-tenured basketball operations chief since Ernie Grunfeld in the 1990s, and the longest tenured since Dolan assumed control of the team in 1999.

One thing has not changed, however: The Knicks now, as ever, are in a perpetual hunt for another glitzy star—and Dolan, as ever, expects one. “That is factual,” said a source with ties to the Garden. The Rose-Wesley team “promised him stars,” the source said. “He didn’t hire them for their (experience) running a basketball team.” Had the Knicks faltered on the court the past two years, the person added, “You’d have seen the old Knicks that you’ve seen the last 24 years—some heads would have rolled.”

The Mitchell stuff is stupid. To think the Knicks would somehow be WORSE with him is absolutely stupid to me. Brunson and Mitchell's games are extremely dynamic. And they would technically only play around half the game together while the other half would be with 1 or the other on the floor. It absolutely could have flourished. Brunson is 10x the player Garland is and that Cleveland team got to the 2nd round.

[nedleeds]

So what we were before big bad CAA came into the picture?

The kool aid is fine for now thanks.

Atlantic division champions in a weak East and a 2nd round exit to the Pacers actually. We had an All NBA scoring machine on that team also.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-pacers-knicks-hibbert-carmelo-anthony-block

that team was primed for the future with their rotation full of players in their primes on great value contracts along with all their first round picks going forward right? ... o wait

Lol that team didn't end the year with the entire starting lineup hurt. Primed for the future of being capped out and injured. Yes we have our picks thank god.

[Fury]

Gotdamn can we stop quoting the original post? Gotta scroll like 5 minutes to see every reply.

[kNicksGmen]

Atlantic division champions in a weak East and a 2nd round exit to the Pacers actually. We had an All NBA scoring machine on that team also.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-pacers-knicks-hibbert-carmelo-anthony-block

that team was primed for the future with their rotation full of players in their primes on great value contracts along with all their first round picks going forward right? ... o wait

Lol that team didn't end the year with the entire starting lineup hurt. Primed for the future of being capped out and injured. Yes we have our picks thank god.

Melo was hurt and i believe JR might have been also. everyone else was old and washed and the team was capped out with zero flexibility to do anything.

you have to be trolling at this point. not only do knicks have all their picks (and others) - they have extreme optionality - even after signing everyone and being "capped out". Nobody is on a bad contract.

[nedleeds]

that team was primed for the future with their rotation full of players in their primes on great value contracts along with all their first round picks going forward right? ... o wait

Lol that team didn't end the year with the entire starting lineup hurt. Primed for the future of being capped out and injured. Yes we have our picks thank god.

Melo was hurt and i believe JR might have been also. everyone else was old and washed and the team was capped out with zero flexibility to do anything.

you have to be trolling at this point. not only do knicks have all their picks (and others) - they have extreme optionality - even after signing everyone and being "capped out". Nobody is on a bad contract.

You have to be trolling for me to believe a second round exit and the whole roster hurt, with none of the key players on rookie scale deals is "primed for the future". C'mon. The Thunder are primed for the future.

[8516knicks]

Wow these AI Russian bots are getting good; I thought it was a real person for a minute or so.

[JerryWestside]

Bump

[robillionaire]

Bump

Don’t get on your burner account say it with your whole chest

[robillionaire]

Thank goodness for CAA culcha, amirite?

Read on Twitter

No we can’t do this, an agent at caa might get a cut of the money, that means we have to trade him for draft picks and win 14 games instead. We must re-install the comedic laughing stock culture of two decades of ineptitude at all costs. The Knicks aren’t allowed to be good. CAA!

Shout out to Steve popper though he called it a long time ago

[rajajackal]

that team was primed for the future with their rotation full of players in their primes on great value contracts along with all their first round picks going forward right? ... o wait

Lol that team didn't end the year with the entire starting lineup hurt. Primed for the future of being capped out and injured. Yes we have our picks thank god.

Melo was hurt and i believe JR might have been also. everyone else was old and washed and the team was capped out with zero flexibility to do anything.

you have to be trolling at this point. not only do knicks have all their picks (and others) - they have extreme optionality - even after signing everyone and being "capped out". Nobody is on a bad contract.

the moment we lost to the pacers nedleeds has been keen on comparing us to the 12-13 melo team and saying our situation right now is no better

for the record he's comparing a team hamstrung by amare's max contract while mostly injured, jr smith and tyson chandler being the rest of their top 3 by default, to a team with brunson, randle, anunoby, bridges, hart, divincenzo, and flexbility lol

[matchman]

Bump

Like whiskey this will age well.

[nykballa2k4]

CAA was great when we had Woody, Kidd, Sheed, Camby -- basically that expendables year.
The next year, thanks to CAA we were saddled with Pasta Bargnani.
Having said that -- we all saw that Bargnani deal as terrible from jump. Maybe a few people talked themselves into positivity, but that's it.

Unless Randle gets some bonkers contract before even proving he is healthy, we can breath easy today.

[thebuzzardman]

Damn I gotta post more CAA articles...CAA IS EVERYWHERE. This one is free and from Howard Beck, who I see as a solid Knicks writer, too. Long article, so I'll cut some paragraphs out.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/5/23/24163000/new-york-knicks-trade-rumors-leon-rose-james-dolan

To date, the Knicks under Rose have not recruited, signed, or poached an established superstar or landed any of the glitzy CAA clients whose names were floated in 2020 (though they did make attempts). Instead, they got Brunson, who was not a star by any definition when they signed him away from Dallas in 2022, to a four-year, $104 million contract that was widely (and prematurely) derided as an overpay.

They also have not done anything flashy, splashy, or headline-grabbing—no swing-for-the-fences trades, no future-mortgaging bids for marquee names just for the sake of winning the back page of the tabloids. In other words, none of the rash mistakes that doomed nearly every other Knicks front office for the past 20 years.

What the Knicks have assembled, instead, is a sound, sustainable, built-for-the-2020s foundation, with an emerging superstar just entering his prime, role players with room to grow, and a full cache of draft picks still available for some future blockbuster trade. They have both talent and flexibility (or “optionality,” as GMs call it). And perhaps just as critically, the Knicks have regained respectability around the league, after years of ineptitude, humiliation, and self-inflicted wounds.

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the Knicks have an identifiable identity, a clearheaded vision, and, critically, an apparent patience from the top that should allow the good vibes to continue.

There’s been a little luck involved, too, something Knicks officials would be the first to acknowledge … that is, if Knicks officials spoke publicly.

As a matter of practice, Rose does not do interviews with the news media. Nor does anyone else on his behalf, leaving only the famously reticent Thibodeau to provide any insight into team philosophy—which he does not. (While the NBA mandates that players and coaches speak regularly to the media, there are no such rules governing team presidents or GMs.)

But through four years of transactions, of choices made and paths not taken, a reasonably clear picture of a more pragmatic, more functional, less impulsive—and less pressured—front office has emerged. So how did the NBA’s most infamously dysfunctional franchise suddenly become so widely respected? The following is based on interviews with numerous league insiders, some with Knicks ties, over the past month. All asked for anonymity to preserve relationships.

Start with the biggest path not taken: a trade for Mitchell, the All-Star guard, New York native, and CAA client. Two summers ago, not long after signing Brunson, the Knicks also made an aggressive bid to obtain Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. But the price proved too steep, the Knicks balked, and the Jazz sent him to Cleveland instead. For the Knicks, it was a true sliding doors moment, a perceived setback that arguably turned into a blessing.

Knicks officials at the time had no expectation that Brunson—a second-round pick who had spent four years as Luka Doncic’s understudy—would become the scoring, playmaking maestro who has emerged over the past two years, peaking with his fifth-place finish in this year’s MVP balloting. (As one source said, “Jalen is probably the only person who saw this coming.”) And if the ball-dominant Mitchell were in New York, Brunson likely would’ve never reached these heights, because both guards need the rock to thrive and to lead. A backcourt with two smaller guards would have also compromised the Knicks defense.

Brunson has reached or exceeded Mitchell’s level as a star, and for $10 million less per year. But it would be too glib to call this a case of luck. Yes, they wanted Mitchell, though there was some internal debate. But sources say they took a disciplined approach to negotiations, deciding from the start that they would not gut their cache of assets—both draft picks and young players—to get him. The Knicks “had an understanding” of where the line was, a source said, so they could “continue to add pieces” if they landed Mitchell. And it was not an easy line to hold. Mitchell, by all accounts, wanted to play for his hometown team. Fans wanted him. And Brunson was not yet the celestial phenomenon he’s since become. It would have been easy to cave to the pressure and give the city the jolt of stardom it craved.

No one wanted a repeat of the 2011 Carmelo Anthony trade, in which the Knicks—with Dolan overriding Donnie Walsh’s front office—pushed in every chip to pry Anthony from Denver, leaving them with few tools to build around him. (Rose knew the details well, having been Anthony’s agent at the time.) In this instance, Rose held the line. And Dolan didn’t intercede, allowing his front office to make the call. “It takes restraint,” the same source said.

Of course, there’s still this hypothetical: What if the Jazz had accepted the Knicks’ final offer and Mitchell had ended up alongside Brunson and Julius Randle, with all of them needing touches and shots? You could argue the Knicks got lucky—or that their restraint produced the better outcome.

So much of the Knicks’ successful roster building can be traced back to that moment. R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley—two budding prospects who were involved in some iterations of the Mitchell talks—were instead traded to Toronto in December for defensive ace Anunoby. Quentin Grimes—another prospect sought by Utah—instead became the key piece in a February trade that netted the Knicks veteran scorers Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.

And the absence of Mitchell’s hefty contract made it easier for the Knicks to add valued role players such as DiVincenzo and Hart and to acquire Anunoby (who’s due for a big payday as a free agent this summer). “That actually helped them become a better team,” one rival executive said of the failed Mitchell bid.

Since Rose’s arrival, the Knicks have made the playoffs three times in four seasons, something they’d done only once this millennium. They’ve made the conference semifinals in back-to-back years—a feat the franchise last achieved in 1999 and 2000, when Ewing was its anchor (and Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks reserve). Thibodeau was an assistant coach then, and he’s infused the current Knicks with a resolve that evokes the glory years.

Of course, a demanding coach can’t succeed without players who embrace those demands. Brunson, who played through countless injuries and carried an increasingly heavy load after Randle was lost to injury, clearly fits the Thibs mold. So do Hart, Hartenstein, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby, all acquired by the front office in the past two years. But it took some time, and a few notable missteps, for the front office and the coach to get on the same page.

Under Rose, the Knicks have repeatedly found gems late in the draft, from Quickley (25th in 2020) to Grimes (25th in 2021) to McBride (36th in 2021). Their biggest whiff, oddly enough, came with their highest pick, in Rose’s first draft. Selecting eighth in 2020, the Knicks took Obi Toppin, a supremely athletic forward, and passed on Tyrese Haliburton, a multiskilled 6-foot-5 point guard, who would be taken four picks later, by Sacramento. Toppin never gained a consistent role behind Randle or enough faith from Thibodeau, and he was traded for a pair of second-round picks last summer—to Indiana, where he’s now teammates with Haliburton.

Of course, 10 other teams also passed on Haliburton. And no one consistently aces the draft. Even the most acclaimed GMs have their albatross. In any case, the Knicks’ misfires have been more than offset by their repeated success in acquiring hidden gems and maximizing them—not only Brunson (a second-round pick in Dallas), but Hart (now on his fourth team) and Hartenstein (fifth team), as well as Quickley, Grimes, and McBride.

While Rose’s CAA ties have not been as influential as some might have believed (or feared), they’ve surely played a role in this Knicks renaissance. But family ties have proved even more potent. Rose’s son, Sam, is a CAA agent whose clients include Anunoby. Rick Brunson was one of Leon Rose’s first clients. And, of course, the Knicks hired Rick as an assistant coach while recruiting Jalen as a free agent. The NBA later found the Knicks guilty of violating anti-tampering rules and docked them a second-round pick. But tampering is a way of life in the NBA. Even some rivals who say the Knicks are particularly brazen about it will say they grudgingly admire it.

Of course, it’s one thing to achieve relevance and another to sustain it. The Garden rocked as hard as it ever has for three weeks in 2012, when Jeremy Lin turned into a worldwide sensation, but his stardom (and his Knicks tenure) proved illusory. The Knicks caught fire the next season, winning 54 games behind Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and J.R. Smith and making the conference semis. But the roster wasn’t built to last, and the Knicks cratered to 37 wins the next season and never made the playoffs again during the Carmelo era.

As in 2012-13, the current Knicks exceeded preseason expectations and hit the 50-win mark during a down year in the Eastern Conference. There’s some skepticism around the league about the Knicks’ ability to keep pace once recent contenders like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Miami get healthy—and with young teams like Indiana and Orlando on the rise. But unlike a decade ago, this Knicks team is powered by players just entering their primes, with a manageable payroll (for now) and a war chest of draft picks to use as trade chips.

The Knicks own all of their future first-round picks and have four others coming—from Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Washington—in the next two years. Which means they are well-positioned to make that long-awaited blockbuster when the opportunity arises—and one always arises. If Booker or Towns or some discontented superstar becomes available, rivals expect the Knicks to pounce. But if the past four years have shown us anything, it’s that the Knicks will take a measured approach. And having Brunson in the fold means they can negotiate without their former desperation.

For most of the past two decades, the Knicks were the NBA’s most profligate spenders and among the least attentive to salary cap management, unless they were dumping contracts to chase a superstar (LeBron James in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2019). Nor did they value draft picks, which they sent out in trades both big and small, often leaving them hamstrung.

Those trends have reversed under Rose’s front office, which he stocked with seasoned basketball executives—including Walt Perrin, Gersson Rosas, Brock Aller, and Frank Zanin—all of whom had success elsewhere and, critically, had the day-to-day experience that Rose and Wesley lacked when they first leaped from CAA to the Garden. When rival GMs call the Knicks to discuss potential deals, it often starts with Rose’s trusted lieutenants, sources said.

Under Rose, the Knicks have operated more methodically, more conservatively, and more patiently than they did under any of his predecessors. Rose, according to sources, has empowered his staff and fostered a collaborative approach—a stark contrast to past administrations, in which internal politics and divergent agendas sometimes sabotaged the Knicks from within. Several longtime basketball operations officials were let go or reassigned after Rose took command.

Even in his years as one of the league’s premier power agents, Rose was known as fairly low-key and modest—traits that NBA sources say have served him well leading the Knicks.

And while the Knicks are undeniably and intimately connected to CAA, sources say they’ve fostered strong relationships with all of the major agencies. They’ve even reportedly patched things up with superagent (and former Rose protégé) Rich Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports, whose clients include LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and De’Aaron Fox.

The Knicks’ newfound success has also made them a much more attractive destination for players than they were half a decade ago, when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and others passed on the chance to play at the Garden in favor of more stable, functional franchises. Agents and players now view the Knicks as a desirable destination (even though Thibodeau polled as the coach players “least want to play for,” according to The Athletic’s anonymous survey).

“I think there is a higher trust level,” said a veteran agent who’s represented multiple All-NBA players. “They’re winning; everyone sees the passion of the fans. Guys who flourish under Thibs love him. I don’t have any reservations about putting anyone there.”

Of course, none of this would’ve mattered if Brunson hadn’t blossomed into a superstar capable of almost single-handedly uplifting the roster. And none of the smart drafting, trading, and bookkeeping will matter much, either, if the Knicks can’t sustain this momentum. They have to re-sign Anunoby and Hartenstein this summer and eventually extend Brunson (for about double his current salary), which will push the Knicks’ payroll into the top tier and make it much harder to add peripheral talent. Thibodeau, who is entering the last year of his contract, is also due for a raise and an extension, though insiders believe it’s a given.

As he heads into his fifth season, Thibodeau already ranks as the Knicks’ longest-tenured coach since Jeff Van Gundy, his former boss, who held the post from 1996 to 2001. By the middle of next season, Rose will have outlasted his last 10 predecessors, making him the Knicks’ longest-tenured basketball operations chief since Ernie Grunfeld in the 1990s, and the longest tenured since Dolan assumed control of the team in 1999.

One thing has not changed, however: The Knicks now, as ever, are in a perpetual hunt for another glitzy star—and Dolan, as ever, expects one. “That is factual,” said a source with ties to the Garden. The Rose-Wesley team “promised him stars,” the source said. “He didn’t hire them for their (experience) running a basketball team.” Had the Knicks faltered on the court the past two years, the person added, “You’d have seen the old Knicks that you’ve seen the last 24 years—some heads would have rolled.”

The Mitchell stuff is stupid. To think the Knicks would somehow be WORSE with him is absolutely stupid to me. Brunson and Mitchell's games are extremely dynamic. And they would technically only play around half the game together while the other half would be with 1 or the other on the floor. It absolutely could have flourished. Brunson is 10x the player Garland is and that Cleveland team got to the 2nd round.

For Fury

[StlHawksFan]

Spot on. The days of 3 superstars taking up 90% of a team's cap are over.

F*ck the Pacers. I don't respect them. But look at the remaining clubs:

Minnesota: Ant-Man, 3 high level bigs, a good PG, young wings.

Dallas: Luka, Kyrie, defenders and shooters

Boston: Tatum, Brown, and a high end supporting cast

It's all about having the most complete team now and not doing what Brooklyn and Phoenix did, just throwing 3 super max contracts together and praying it works. It's not 2010.

This roster is already set even if no moves are made. But obviously, some retooling is in order because Thibs at least needs 9 to 10 guys he can trust to play at all times.

minny will have 3 stars all on max deals next year though. gobert is a star, it's just not on offense. the celtics start 4 guys who have been all-stars and will have the most expensive starting 5 in the history of basketball. they have 4 guys making over 30 this year and in 2 years 2 of those guys will be making 50 each. you guys are kind of twisting the rules to fit this narrative. you can win with 2 or 3 if it's the right players. people point to the suns but maybe that's just a bad threesome and not the example that sets the rule. the clippers looked pretty good when healthy with their big 3. and sure you need good role players but you always needed some of those.

Exactly, and when PG13 goes to Philly they'll have 3 stars.... 3 Stars don't work if the are redundant and/or the team lacks depth, but it can work. But watching the Dallas, Boston, and Minny makes me think that even though we are contenders when healthy if we can add talent we should.... and when I say add I mean just that....not creating a hole at PF to add talent somewhere else....So really its about adding what you can without moving Randle....essentially Mikal bridges or bust. Barring that run it back.... we got the 2 stars (JR and JB) and just fill in the gaps with a young drafted talent, Rokas etc.

The last time a true 3-superstar team won a title was Miami in 2012 & 2013.

After that you had:
Tim Duncan and top tier role players (Manu, Parker)
Steph Curry and top tier role players (Klay, Dray, Iggy)
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and top tier role players (Love wasn't a superstar at that point)
Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and top tier role players (x2)
Kawhi Leonard and top tier role players (Siakam, Lowry)
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and top tier role players (Kuzma, KCP)
Giannis, and top tier role players (Holiday, Middleton)
Steph and top tier role players (Klay, Dray, Wiggins)
Jokic and top tier role players (Murray, KCP)
and finally Boston's duo with their complementary pieces

What's the commonality? Those role players were borderline allstars or maybe even occasional allstars but they were never max players.

When you spend >80% of your budget on 3 guys, you will not win.

Philly could prove me wrong but I highly doubt they will. They are spending 81.4% on Embiid, George, and Maxey. Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre, and Andre Drummond are their next three highest paid guys. The rest of the rotation? rookie Jared McCain, washed up Eric Gordon, washed up Kyle Lowry, and undrafted Ricky Council who has 32 career games under his belt.