Leon Rose's Remarkable Two-Year Run

It's been an incredible two years, arguably the best 24-month stretch by any executive in franchise history, that has the Knicks finally headed in the right direction.

Tomorrow, July 12th, is the two-year anniversary of the Knicks officially announcing they had signed Jalen Brunson. 

We didn't know it then, but this move would reverberate through the franchise, marking a significant turning point in its trajectory. 

Remember, when New York added Brunson, they were fresh off a 37-win campaign. It was the 17th time they finished below .500 over the first 21 years of the 21st century. The Knicks lost more games than any other team in the NBA during that span. 

With Brunson at the helm, New York has advanced to the second round of the playoffs in two consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999. Since Brunson made his NY debut, the Knicks are tied for the third most wins (regular season and playoffs combined) in the NBA, trailing only the previous two champions (Boston and Denver). 

This past season, he authored one of the best all-around seasons in the history of the franchise, averaging career-highs in points (28.7), assists (6.7), and made three-pointers (2.7) en route to becoming just the second Knick this century to finish in the top-5 in MVP voting. 

However, Brunson alone has not carried New York to this surprising success.

The Knicks front office, led by team president Leon Rose, has been remarkably effective in rounding out the roster around their newfound superstar point guard.

This two-year run by Rose and company has been nothing short of extraordinary.

On the same day as the Brunson signing, New York also officially announced that it had signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a two-year, $16 million contract and inked Mitchell Robinson to a four-year, $60 million extension. 

The iHart deal turned out to be an insanely cost-efficient free-agent signing. During his two years with the club, Hartenstein was a crucial contributor to New York, eventually emerging as a top-tier starting center over the second half of the 2023-24 season. In fact, iHart exceeded expectations to such an extent that he priced himself out of the Knicks' price range this summer (the max NY could offer was $72 million over four years due to a CBA quirk) and agreed to a 3-year, $87 million deal with the OKC Thunder. 

As for Mitch Rob, he's dealt with his fair share of injury issues but has been dominant defensively and on the offensive glass when healthy. In addition, his contract has a descending salary structure. He'll earn $14.3 million next season and less than $13 million in 2025-26 (a bargain for a starting caliber center). Incredibly, Robinson was the first Knicks draft pick to sign a multi-year contract with New York following his rookie deal since Charlie Ward in 1999.

That June, in the 2022 NBA draft, Rose ended up trading New York's lottery pick (#11 overall) to OKC for three future first-round picks. The Thunder selected Ousmane Dieng, who has yet to crack OKC's rotation. Rose then flipped one of those future picks to Detroit to unload the contracts of Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, which provided NY the cap space necessary to sign Brunson, iHart and Mitch Rob. The Knicks still own the rights to two of those first-rounders (protected picks via Detroit and Washington), which can be included in future trades. 

During Brunson's first season in New York, Rose acquired one of JB's former teammates at Villanova. On February 9th, 2023, Rose traded Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and a 2023 first-round pick (Kris Murray was later selected at #23 overall) to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Josh Hart. 

Hart made an immediate impact in NYC, powering the Knicks to the playoffs over the second half of the season. Rose signed Hart to a four-year extension the following offseason, ensuring he'd spent the rest of his prime in orange and blue. In 2023-24, Hart proved his worth again, as he logged obscene minutes after getting bumped into the starting lineup after injuries decimated NY's frontline. Over the final 35 games of the regular season, Hart averaged 12.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

This past postseason, Hart played arguably the best basketball of his career over and was the team's second-most-productive player. Over NY's first nine playoff games, he averaged 17.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 triples (while shooting above 45% from downtown). 

Last July, Rose had limited cap space to work with but added another former Wildcat to the mix, inking Donte DiVincenzo to a four-year, $46.9 million deal. Plenty of pundits and fans argued New York should trade valuable draft assets in exchange for Dejounte Murray or Bradley Beal. Instead, Rose "settled" for signing DDV to a contract for less than the mid-level exception.  

DiVincenzo entered the starting lineup in early December and averaged 19.2 points, 4.2 boards, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals over the season's final 50 games. He finished the regular season with 283 made three-pointers, which ranked third in the NBA and shattered the Knicks' all-time record. Over the Knicks' final eight postseason contests, he averaged 22.8 PPG and 4.5 treys while shooting 47.4% from behind the arc and 85.7% from the free-throw line. 

The best part for NY is DiVincenzo will remain remarkably affordable over the next three years. Here's his annual salary going forward:
2024-25: $11.4 million
2025-26: $11.9 million
2026-27: $12.5 million 

In late December of 2023, Rose pulled the trigger on a blockbuster, trading R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors for Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby and Malachi Flynn. 

The trade paid immediate dividends. Not only did New York win 20 of the 23 regular-season games Anunoby played in a Knicks uniform, but OG posted a positive plus/minus in every contest (the longest such streak in franchise history). Earlier this month, the Knicks inked Anunoby to the richest contract in team history, keeping the 3-and-D Demigod in NYC through the end of this decade. 

Surprisingly, Achiuwa inherited unexpected responsibilities due to Randle, Anunoby and Robinson's injuries. Precious made the most of the opportunity, averaging 13.0 points (on 53.4% shooting), 9.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in 36.8 minutes over a six-week stretch from late January to early April. 

On the day the OG/RJ/IQ trade was consummated, Rose also made an under-the-radar move, inking Miles McBride to a three-year, $13 million contract. The NY front office anticipated Deuce seeing increased action with Quickley no longer on the roster and was willing to bet McBride would step in and step up. Deuce did just that, establishing himself as a rotation regular. Over a five-game stretch in late March, he averaged 21.6 points, 3.8 assists (vs. 0.4 turnovers) and 4.6 made three-pointers in 44.3 minutes.

His contract is now considered one of the most team-friendly on a team full of team-friendly contracts. It was an excellent bit of business in New York. 

This past February, New York traded Ryan Arcidiacono, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes to the Detroit Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. New York also received a trade exception. Burks and Bogey didn't deliver initially, but Bogdanovic had some moments late in the regular season, while Burks scored in bunches when he dusted off in the second round of the playoffs. 

Rose eventually used Bogdanovic's expiring salary to complete a trade for Mikal Bridges, sending Bogey's $19.9 million contract to Brooklyn along with five future first-round picks and a pick swap. This trade was just made, so it can't reasonably be evaluated one way or another, but Bridges elevates the Knicks to "true contender" status.

Yes, Rose paid a pretty penny, but he had to cash in his chips at some point. Among all realistic potential options, Bridges is arguably as close to a perfect fit (considering his skill set, age, durability, mentality and chemistry/connections) as possible for this Knicks roster as currently constituted (during Brunson's prime). 

Another note regarding this trade: New York included Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite in the deal. As I detailed last week, NY signed Milton on March 5th after the Pistons waived him. He appeared in just six games for New York. However, he was on a one-year contract at the end of the 2023-24 season, which enabled the Knicks to include him in a sign-and-trade this summer, as NY was able to re-sign him via the non-qualifying veteran free agent (aka "Non-Bird") exception. Inking Milton to a deal with a 20% raise pushed him over the minimum contract threshold, allowing his salary to be stacked in a multi-player trade.  

As for Diakite, the Knicks initially signed him to a 10-day contract on March 14th. When that expired, they signed him to a two-year deal with the 2024-25 season non-guaranteed. He ended up logging eight minutes over three games. Yet, his contract status enabled New York to send half his 24-25 salary to Brooklyn.

These two minor moves, which we barely noticed three months ago, allowed the Knicks' front office to include an extra $4.3 million in outgoing salary on top of Bogey's money. This prevented NY from being hard-capped at the first apron, enabling them to access precious cap space to round out this year's roster. Think about how far ahead Rose and company were thinking.

Last month, the Knicks entered the 2024 draft with the #24, #25 and #38 overall picks. 

After seemingly dozens of trades, the Knicks exited the 2024 draft with:

• Pacome Dadiet (an enticing, athletic draft-and-stash 18-year-old)

• Tyler Kolek (a gritty, proven, productive, plug-and-play backup PG)

• Kevin McCullar Jr. (an NBA-ready 6'7 wing who averaged 18.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists last season while also being named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team)

• Ariel Hukporti (a physical 22-year-old rim-protecting center)

• $1.5 million in cash and three additional future second-round picks in their pocket 

Last week, it was reported that New York signed Dadiet for only 80% of the rookie scale figure. Instead of earning $2,712,120 next season, Dadiet will make $1,808,080. This will save New York more than $900,000 against this year's cap. 

Here's a look at the Knicks depth chart heading into next season:

PG:
Jalen Brunson
Deuce McBride
Tyler Kolek

SG:
Mikal Bridges 
Donte DiVincenzo

SF:
OG Anunoby
Pacôme Dadiet
Kevin McCullar Jr.

PF:
Julius Randle
Josh Hart

C:
Mitchell Robinson
Jericho Sims
Ariel Hukporti

That's the best roster this franchise has fielded in over two decades. And Leon isn't done yet. New York is approximately $17 million under the second apron. They can use that cap space and the tax-payers mid-level exception ($5.2 million) to add depth up front.

Consider the contrast in talent between the roster Rose inherited when he was hired four years and four months ago to this current squad.

The year before Leon Rose arrived (2018-19), the Knicks top-5 scorers were: 
1. Kevin Knox (963 points)
2. Tim Hardaway Jr. (880)
3. Emmanuel Mudiay (873)
4. Damyean Dotson (779)
5. Allonzo Trier (695)

On the day the team officially announced Rose had accepted the position, the Knicks played a game that night. Maurice Harkless, Taj Gibson and Elfrid Payton started for NY. Wayne Ellington logged 20+ minutes off the bench. New York was 18-42. 

The Knicks will enter the 2024-25 campaign as one of the odd-on favorites to capture the Larry O'Brien Trophy. And it's not as though they have a narrow window to compete. This team is built for sustained success. 

While we've highlighted the home runs the front office has hit, it's also important to credit them for avoiding the pitfalls that plagued previous regimes. Rose spent his first four years on the job accumulating draft capital instead of needlessly parting with picks. New York has also been patient and unwilling to overpay for a star (the most prominent example was refusing to be robbed by Danny Ainge in the Donovan Mitchell negotiations). 

While there were some swings and misses early on in his tenure, Rose's batting average over the past two years has been exceptional (think Ted Williams and Barry Bonds' OBP combined).

To recap, here are the major moves Rose, along with the rest of the New York front office, have made in this stretch:

🏀 July 12th, 2022
Signed Jalen Brunson (4 years, $102 million)
Signed Mitchell Robinson (4 years, $60 million)
Signed Isaiah Hartenstein (2 years, $16 million)

🏀 February 9th, 2023
Traded Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and a 2023 first-round pick to Portland for Josh Hart

🏀 July 8th, 2023
Signed Donte DiVincenzo (4 years, $46.9 million)

🏀December 30th, 2023
Traded R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn.

🏀December 30th, 2023
Signed Miles McBride to extension (3 years, $13 million)

🏀February 8th, 2024
Traded Ryan Arcidiacono, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes to Detroit for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

🏀 June 26th, 2024:
Drafted Pacôme Dadiet (25th pick) of the 2024 NBA Draft.

🏀 June 27th, 2024: 
Drafted Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Ariel Hukporti 

🏀 July 6th, 2024:
Signed OG Anunoby (5 years, $212.5 million)

🏀 July 6th, 2024:
Traded Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton, five future first-round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop.

It's been an incredible two years, arguably the best 24-month stretch by any executive in franchise history, that has the Knicks finally headed in the right direction.