Knicks’ Leon Rose Should Be Executive of the Year

There are a lot of executives and front-office personnel in the NBA who have done an excellent job building up their respective rosters. But, Leon Rose of the New York Knicks deserves to win the Executive of the Year award this year.

The job he has done turning the franchise around since taking over as the Knicks’ president of basketball operations on March 2nd, 2020. New York, the mecca of basketball, had turned into a laughingstock in the NBA after years of failures.

Previous front offices attempted quick fixes, looking to cash in on over-the-hill veterans that cost way too much to acquire. When Rose took over, he started cleaning house and building the foundation where the team is today.

His first order of business was hiring Tom Thibodeau to be the head coach. Thibodeau has helped change the culture of the franchise, as the 2023-24 NBA season is the third time in four tries that the team will finish over .500 and likely make a playoff appearance.

Rose has made plenty of excellent moves, which started with the signing of power forward Julius Randle. He was the first splash acquisition, as Rose has done a great job of handling the salary cap and stockpiling assets to help improve the roster.

New York has done an incredible job under Rose unearthing talent at all points of the NBA Draft. Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride, two key contributors, are both second-round picks. The team developed players such as Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes and Obi Toppin to flip them into players to help them win now and further improve the future outlook.

While some will argue that the NBA Draft has featured some misses, as the Knicks have traded out of first rounds in recent years and didn’t find any stars, Rose has more than made up for it with free agency. That is one of the rewards of keeping your salary cap clean, as New York can maneuver in the offseason.

In the last two offseason, Rose has hit home runs with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. Brunson’s four-year, $104 million deal was panned at the time, but he has turned into an NBA All-Star and All-NBA level player. DiVincenzo is on the verge of breaking the Knicks’ single-season 3-point record, turning into an elite role player.

Finding value in the contracts they have handed out is key to Rose’s Executive of the Year resume. As shared by a user on X, McBride, Brunson and DiVincenzo are making $41 million this season. That is less than what the Houston Rockets are paying their free agent acquisition, Fred VanVleet, as he makes $43 million.