The New York Knicks fired president Steve Mills on Tuesday. Knicks general manager Scott Perry will oversee the team’s basketball operations in the interim.
The New York Knicks Announce Steve Mills to Leave His Position pic.twitter.com/Bdw37DKuEM
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) February 4, 2020
One option for the Knicks’ new president could be Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Knicks owner James Dolan has wanted Ujiri to run the Knicks basketball operations for a ling time. However, getting Ujiri to the Knicks could be a hard task. There are complications with Ujiri’s contract and the Knicks don’t want to surrender draft-pick considerations to Toronto, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Dolan has already had converations with one possible candidate, sources tell ESPN. The process for a successor is likely moving faster than the time needed to wait on an Ujiri courtship. https://t.co/9oFeARMvFY
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2020
“It has been a great honor to represent the Knicks,” Mills said in a statement. “I will always be grateful to Jim for giving me the chance to represent this franchise and I’m disappointed we were unable to achieve success for New York. I would like to thank the staff and players for their hard work during my tenure. I will always be a Knicks fan.”
Mills joined the Knicks as general manager in 2013. In July 2017, he became the team’s president after Phil Jackson was fired. He was also an executive vice president of the Knicks.
Mills oversaw the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, as well the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also drafted Mitchell Robinson and R.J. Barrett. Under Mills, the Knicks are 178-365, the worst record in the NBA.
This season, the Knicks are 15-36, which is the third worst record in the Eastern Conference, and won’t make the playoffs. Mills’s firing comes just two days before the trade deadline. The Knicks are reportedly interested in D’Angelo Russell, so we’ll see if they try to get him. We’ll also see if they can get Ujiri to be their new president.
