The Knicks may have a good handle on things as they thrust ahead into a post Phil Jackson era, but they’ll still need to eventually bolster their front office in his absence.
As the team explores potential candidates, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that they’ve opened discussions with former Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin. Talks are set to continue, with a potential interview down the line as the search progresses.
Griffin obviously guided the Cavaliers to their first title back in 2016. Having LeBron James lead the way made his job an easy one. Employing a superstar of that caliber makes any team an instant championship contender and also gives prospective players a huge incentive to join in on the chase. Despite his departure from Cleveland, Griffin left with a big fan in James.
If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland! Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1🏆
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 20, 2017
Griffin’s most difficult task was arguably making the moves necessary to keep James happy and in town. Because of this, he was the sort of executive who acted first and thought things out second. He built his team to compete in the moment, with much less of a focus on the long term future. The Knicks need executives with more extended foresight.
Interestingly enough, Shelburne notes that the two sides discussed a front office position, not specifying that it was the Presidential post. What’s more, the report says that the Knicks are not expected to seek permission to speak with Masai Ujiri. Much like the OKC Thunder’s Sam Presti and any other executive currently under contract like Ujiri, New York would need to part with some form of compensation to hire them. The choice to look elsewhere suggests the organization isn’t willing to sacrifice part of its future to reel an executive in.
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