The New York Knicks have reportedly fired president Steve Mills. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Knicks owner James Dolan will target championship-winning president Masai Ujiri to eventually run the team.
Mills' firing comes just over a month after the team fired head coach David Fizdale in December. GM Scott Perry has reportedly taken over basketball operations for the team.
Mills' departure also paves the way the Knicks to pursue Ujiri, when his contract with the Raptors is up in 2020-2021. Ujiri has been credited with revamping the Raptors' roster and turning the franchise into a championship team. It's no wonder the Knicks have been lobbying for his services since at least November. It's also believed that the Knicks feel that landing Ujiri will strengthen their chances at signing Giannis Antetokounmpo in free agency.
Although league sources say that Ujiri is Dolan's "dream candidate," luring from Toronto could be complicated, as Woj points out in the tweet above. The Raptors would require draft picks if Ujiri were to bounce, and secause the Knicks' poor record will likely have them in the lottery this year, Dolan could be reluctant to give up what could possibly be a top 5 draft pick.
Woj also reported that Dolan might look to model his front office after that of the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Super-agent Rich Paul seemed to jokingly throw his hat in the ring for job.
But Paul might have some stiff competition. According to the New York Post, Kevin Durant's manager, Rich Kleiman, is an early front runner for the top job in New York. Sources tell the Post's Marc Berman that if Kleiman were to land the job, he would hire former Warriors coach Mark Jackson to lead the Knicks on the floor.
The online reaction to Mills' firing has been mostly positive, but as is always the case with the Knicks, there were jokes, too.
