Knicks Daily Roundup 5/19: Knicks Hire Assistant GM, Thibs Not a Lock, and More
-Leon Rose has made his next front office move. The Knicks are hiring Utah's Walt Perrin to be their assistant general manager, as reported by Shams Charania. Perrin was serving as vice president of player personnel for the Jazz and has been a highly regarded scout during his career. While it's hard to judge the decision right away, Perrin contributed to plenty of success for a small market team in Utah, and he's not a flashy hire that New York sometimes gravitates toward. Fans should be optimistic that Perrin can help improve the team. Our own Kris Pursiainen has more about Rose's latest front office acquisition.
-There's been speculation on the Knicks potentially leaning toward Tom Thibodeau as their next head coach, but SNY's Ian Begley believes that assumption is jumping the gun. In Begley's latest mailbag, he says that "Rose probably has close relationships with many coaches at the college and NBA level" and thinks "it's premature to say that Thibodeau - or anyone else - is a lock to get the job." It's interesting insight from the beat writer and shows that Thibs may not be the favorite some thought he was. Begley's mailbag talks about what benefits the Knicks could have with a lower salary cap (this was also discussed in yesterday's roundup), the potential of the season resuming, and more.
-Developing young players for the first few years of their career can sometimes be void of pressure. When a front office has to decide if they want to give the player a second contract is where things can get tricky. Charlie Ward in 1994 was the last Knick to sign a multi-year deal with the team after their rookie contract, but that streak could soon be broken. In 2021, Frank Ntilikina will hit free agency and Mitchell Robinson will be eligible for an extension. The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov and Danny Leroux wrote about the cases for each player and why the Knicks could consider a long-term deal for either. Ntilikina is tricky, as he's yet to prove he can be an impactful rotation player on a consistent basis. Robinson has shown how valuable he can be as a shot-swatting rim-running big man, but committing long-term money to a non-shooting center can be dicey. Vorkunov and Leroux do a great job laying out what a second contract could look like for each player, as well as how Frank and Mitch could change the conversation between now and next offseason.
-Our own Lauren Russell is back with another Knicks social media update. Interested in Frank Ntilikina's quarantine workouts? Want to see R.J. Barrett's new dance moves? Wondering how your favorite Knicks players honored their moms on Mother's Day? Read about all of those and more in Lauren's article.
