Knicks to Hire Frank Zanin As Assistant GM
After weeks of radio silence, Leon Rose emerged from the shadows yesterday to hire Walt Perrin away from the Utah Jazz.
Today, Rose hired Frank Zanin, according to The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov, as the complement to Perrin, with Perrin set to handle college scouting and personnel and Zanin coming on for the pro-side of personnel decisions. Both will have the title of Assistant GM, as well as the acknowledgement that they head their respective personnel departments.
Zanin worked as a scout and assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from the 2000 to 2008 seasons before becoming a Pro Personnel Scout for the Nets in late 2010. Two years later, Zanin was shifted to Director of Player Procurement, and then Assistant General Manager another year after that. After serving as Assistant GM for almost 3 years, Zanin became a Pro Scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder in late 2016 where he has worked until now.
It is certainly worth noting that back in 2016, Zanin turned a certain NBA player into a fan of his. Bryant had a game against the Dallas Mavericks just a few hours later, one which actually featured a game-winning shot from Dirk Nowitzki. I would assume Zanin was at the game to scout pro talent, and met Bryant beforehand.
Leon Rose's front office now consists of himself, Scott Perry, Brock Aller, Walt Perrin, and David Zanin. Zanin should bring plenty of helpful experience to the table, especially coming from one of the more respected organizations in terms of how well it's run.
