- The New York Knicks' "dream" scenario is to hire Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri to lead their front office, according to multiple reports.
- Ujiri is currently under contract with the Raptors until 2021, meaning the Knicks would have to compensate the Raptors, likely with draft picks, to land Ujiri — a poor starting point for a rebuild.
- The Knicks have repeatedly looked to "saviors" in the past to turn things around.
- While Ujiri is capable and qualified for leading a rebuild, the Knicks would again be placing lofty expectations on one person to fix their many issues.
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On Tuesday, the New York Knicks took another turn in their ongoing rebuild by removing Steve Mills as president of the team.
Under Mills, the Knicks went 61-154 since 2018 and posted a losing record in all 13 years of his time in basketball operations, according to The New York Times' Marc Stein.
In their statement announcing the move, the Knicks said their search for their next team president is underway.
The focus of that search is Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that Knicks owner James Dolan's "dream" has been to land Ujiri. Bleacher Report's Howard Beck wrote in December that Dolan is "enamored" with Ujiri, and SNY's Ian Begley reported in December that people in Madison Square Garden are "obsessed" with Ujiri.
Indeed, Ujiri has been one of the best executives in the NBA over the last decade. After a successful stint in Denver, he built a perennial playoff contender in Toronto, then brought them a championship by making high-stakes trades for Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol. This year, the Raptors, sans Leonard, are second in the East and on pace to win 59 games.
He also has a history with the Knicks. In 2011, he convinced the Knicks to give up four rotation players and two draft picks in a trade for Carmelo Anthony, who was set to become a free agent in four months. In 2013, on the heels of a 54-win season, the best Knicks season in over a decade, he got a first-round draft pick from the Knicks for power forward Andrea Bargnani, who the Raptors were seeking to dump. The Knicks haven't made the playoffs since.
While Ujiri is arguably the most qualified and best candidate to help the Knicks out of the doldrums, placing so much emphasis on one person to do so is a recurring problem for a team that seemingly changes course every year.
Roadblocks to landing Ujiri
Bringing Ujiri to New York isn't as simple as hiring him. Ujiri is under contract with the Raptors through 2021, and the Raptors likely won't be interested in just letting him go.
On Tuesday, Stein reported what other league insiders have said — Ujiri would have an interest in the job under the right circumstances. Stein even wrote that some believe that the Raptors would let Ujiri leave if he genuinely wanted the Knicks' job.
If Raptors ownership doesn't let Ujiri leave without getting something in return — and they would be smart not to — the price could be steep. Begley reported on Tuesday that league sources estimate that the "baseline" compensation necessary to get Ujiri out of Toronto would be two first-round picks.
Wojnarowski said on ESPN on Tuesday that the Knicks would be reluctant to meet such compensation. It also doesn't make much sense for Ujiri to join a team that had to forfeit significant assets to land him.
There is also a matter of salary. If Ujiri is indeed interested in leaving a stable, winning situation in Toronto to lead a Knicks rebuild, salary likely figures into that equation. Executive salaries don't count against the salary cap, so the Knicks paying Ujiri something like $15 million annually wouldn't affect the product on the floor.
According to Wojnarowski, the Knicks have also explored the option of hiring an agent to lead their front office, as the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers did with Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka.
The New York Post's Marc Berman also reported that Dolan may not want to wait until after the season to pursue Ujiri, possibly ending their bid for him before it began.
The Knicks' savior complex
The Knicks have been down this road before. For the better part of this century, the Knicks have pursued saviors to turn the franchise around.
There have been plenty of high-profile hirings and signings to right the ship: Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Mike D'Antoni, Phil Jackson, to name a few. Those tenures did not last very long (with the exception of Thomas, who wore out his welcome with fans), nor did they bring the desired results.
In Jackson, the Knicks saw a savior, a revered basketball mind who could establish a culture and turn the franchise around. The Knicks reportedly gave Jackson, who had been out of basketball, a five-year, $60 million contract to become president of basketball operations in 2014.
Of course, Ujiri is not Jackson. Jackson had no experience running a team, and over time, he revealed his views of the game to be antiquated. The Knicks fired him in 2017 after two losing seasons and a lack of direction.
There is little doubt that Ujiri could come in, establish a vision, and work toward executing it.
But how much can one person do? First, Ujiri would need assurances from Dolan that he could work without interference and be given the time and space to execute a plan. Dolan, based on past reports, gave Jackson that space.
The Knicks also need luck. The most brutal blow to the franchise recently was not missing out on the top free agents of 2019, but falling to No. 3 in the 2019 draft after finishing with the league's worst record and best odds to get the No. 1 pick. Knicks rookie R.J. Barrett, though talented and versatile, has not revealed himself to be in the same class as Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, who went with the first two picks in the draft. (It is, of course, incredibly early for all three players). Had the Knicks landed either Williamson or Morant, the future of the franchise would look brighter than it does at the moment.
The Knicks' problems run deep, and to turn things around, they'll need to address them — beginning with Dolan, who has cultivated an atmosphere of instability and borderline chaos since taking over the team.
But Ujiri would need time to dig the Knicks out of their current hole before then going forward with a plan. Would Ujiri be afforded that time and space, especially if it takes another season or two of resetting? It is ironic that the Knicks could give up on their "dream" before even beginning it because of a lack of patience.
On the basketball end, the Knicks need better player development, high-end talent in the draft, some luck in the trade market, and eventually, high-end free agents. Ujiri can help with all of that, but there is still only so much one person can do.
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