New York Knicks: Making sense of the Leon Rose hire

The New York Knicks have hired Leon Rose as the next team president. Is he the right man for the job? Only time will tell.

On March 2, 2020, Leon Rose was officially hired as the New York Knicks team president, and there is debate about whether he is the right person for the job.

Considering the Knicks did not have the typical press conference, we don’t know what vision Rose has for the team. However, in some way, this was refreshing. Rose just joined the team with a quarter of the season left and stated that he wanted to “take time and evaluate” what is happening in the organization.

In all honesty, there was no need for Rose to have a presser and make proclamations. Especially, when he hasn’t had time to assess the environment first hand.

However, with what seems to be a majority of the fanbase not knowing much about him, this approach caused some skepticism. But the fact that basketball experts like Bill Simmons (known for constantly bashing the Knicks) are generally in support of the move indicates that he may be a good hire.

Rose’s first day on the job seemed like it was going to be a magical one because that night the New York Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets in stunning fashion. It was a tight matchup with the Knicks prevailing by a score of 125-123.

Unfortunately, Rose’s first day as team president was not all sunshine and roses (pun intended). That night, Knicks’ superfan, Spike Lee, was denied admission through the employee entrance, which has been his normal entrance for 28 years. Lee would then be seen in his normal seat during the game, making it seem that everything was settled between James Dolan and Lee.

Well, things took a turn for the worse when Lee went on First Take to express his feelings about the entire situation. Lee went on to say that he was being harassed by Dolan to make a statement (and, after Oakley was manhandled and ejected from MSG three years ago, Lee believes that Dolan is giving him problems because of his support for Oakley).

It would have been a good move for James Dolan to not have responded to Lee’s comments or just to have apologized through a nice statement. However, we got this:

Instead of basking in the glory of one of the New York Knicks’ best wins this season, it should be an eye-opener for Rose on how dysfunctional the organization can be at times. Hopefully, he is aware of how much work and leadership this franchise requires.

Now that Rose has received the proper chaotic “welcome to the Garden” experience within 24 hours, he can now start getting to work. But the question that is running through everyone’s mind is: Can Rose turn the New York Knicks into a championship-contending franchise that it once was?

So let’s get familiar with Rose and see if he has what it takes to be the Knicks Team President.