KNICKS NIX FOR MELO BUYOUT:
Steve now in hot seat
When David Griffin met with Steve Mills and the Knicks nearly two weeks ago about their vacant general manager position they never asked Griffin for his opinion on the Tim Hardaway Jr. contract, according to a league source.
That’s seems odd, no, that the Knicks wouldn’t solicit the advice of a GM candidate regarding a contract that will pay a career back-up $71 million over four years? Of course, it’s not as if Griffin could do anything about it. Mills took it upon himself to sign Hardaway one day before sitting down with Griffin.
If nothing else it was clear back then that Mills is firmly in charge. Finally.
That’s not the only reason Griffin backed away from the Knicks but it was a factor nonetheless.
Just keep that in mind as the Knicks are telling you that Scott Perry, introduced on Monday as the team’s new general manager, has the authority to make basketballrelated decisions. Doesn’t mean he won’t but excuse us while we take the wait-and-see approach.
The culture doesn’t miraculously change just because you write it in a press release.
Mills was the general manager during one of the worst three-year runs in team history. Perry was fired following a disastrous run in Orlando. That’s concerning.
Culture change? Ultimately, the results will tell the real story.
We know there is no such thing as full autonomy at Madison Square Garden. Never has, never will be. James Dolan said in mid-June that the Knicks were Phil’s show and two weeks later he cancelled the Jackson comeback tour after three dreadful seasons.
There’s never autonomy. There’s just a new regime, another press conference and more promises about a better tomorrow until the next regime has its press conference.
Mills is linked to the Jackson regime, serving as Phil’s GM until Dolan gave him the big bump to president. That 80-166 record goes on Mills’ resume as well.
But Mills still received a huge promotion which takes Mills out of the shadows and puts the spotlight directly on him to build a winner.
There will be a grace period of course. Mills is talking rebuild which is what fans and ownership love to hear. It also buys the new regime some time. Both Mills and Perry, according to a source, signed three-year contracts with two-year options. So rebuild away.
That still doesn’t explain why Jackson and Mills signed Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee last summer but as Mills said on Monday, we’re looking forward, not back.
Smart man. Who wouldn’t be running as fast as they can from Jackson, who was completely out of his league as an front office executive.
Jackson also leaves the Carmelo Anthony mess in Mills’ lap. As of late Monday, the Melo camp had not heard from Perry or Mills. It is Carmelo’s understanding that the Knicks interrupted their trade talks with the Houston Rockets in order to introduce Perry and give him a few days on the job before they get back to work.
Mills was talking about Anthony possibly returning next season but from all indications that would not be ideal for Melo. He’s ready to leave.
“I think we’ll be a good, developing team if Carmelo is part of the team,” Mills said. “We’ll be a good, developing team if he isn’t.”
Mills was in the Knicks’ front office when they traded Patrick Ewing as opposed to making him play out the final year on his contract.
How did that decision work out? The Knicks have won exactly one playoff series since that trade in the summer of 2000. The Ewing Curse is very much alive and well.
Good luck to Mills with trading Anthony, whose value was killed by Jackson, who was never as smart as he thought he was.
This is a delicate issue for Mills and Perry, who both have made a career out of forging relationships with players. They don’t want this to get messy but more importantly they can’t accept a deal that places the Knicks in salary cap purgatory.
Mills was guarded in his comments about Anthony, which is a wise move but not at all surprising
Mills, to those who know and work with him, is known as “the player whisper.” It is both a strength and weakness of the new Knicks boss.
Besides selling himself to Dolan as the Princeton educated, Pete Carril-coached executive, Mills also fancies himself as a guy who connects with today’s players in ways that Jackson never could. It’s a smart play and in most cases accurate.
Mills may not be as cool or savvy with NBA millennials as the other big name basketball executive at MSG, Isiah Thomas, but Mills is connected nonetheless.
And in a relationship-business like the NBA that’s a good thing. Most executives either didn’t have Jackson’s number and even more didn’t want to speak with him.
That’s not good for business.
So when Kristaps Porzingis blew off his exit meeting with Jackson in April, it stands to reason that it reflected poorly on Mills as well. He is supposed to be tight with the players, remember?
On Monday, Mills made it a point to say that’s he’s been texting with the big Latvian. He was name dropping for a reason. Mills wants to be seen as the anti-Phil which is absolutely the right call. What that means for Jeff Hornacek, Kurt Rambis and Clarence Gaines remains to be seen.
Mills knows the Garden culture as well as anyone and he can play by Dolan’s rules. That alone gives him an edge.
He’s survivor, no doubt about it, with perfect timing. Nobody wanted to be the coach to succeed Phil Jackson. But replacing Jackson as president is another story. That’s a low bar. Mills couldn’t possibly do any worse. Right?