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It’s over! Our incredibly short national nightmare is over! The Knicks are hiring Leon Rose, and not Masai Ujiri, to head up their basketball operations.
Knicks have begun finalizing plans to bring Rose and William Wesley into potential basketball ops. structure, sources say. https://t.co/YxO3xVtDnL
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2020
Leon Rose! Our hero! Hang a banner in this man’s name.
A lot has happened since yesterday’s Concern-o-Meter, which we’ll get to. But first, let’s officially reset the dial!
How Concerned Should we be about Masai Ujiri Leaving?
Masai Ujiri is not going anywhere! At least, not right now, and not to the Knicks. Thus, the Concern-o-Meter stands at a 1 out of 10 (where 1 is the least concerned, and 10 is highly concerned). Folks, it just can’t go any lower.
Current Concern-o-Meter Rating: 1
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We are not worried, at all.
Naturally, things can change. Other teams will come calling. Heck, the Knicks might fire Rose within a week! The Knicks stay the Knicks. But for now, all is good in the world.
Let’s quickly run back how we got here, shall we?
Yesterday afternoon, it got quiet. It seemed the entire NBA discourse had moved on, and then during their annual trade deadline show, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe had this to say:
Woj on Dolan, from today: "... As much as he's coveted Masai Ujiri, the hurdles it would take to get there, from draft compensation to Toronto allowing him out of his contract to Masai wanting to do this, he seems that he has lost his desire to go forward and chase that."
— Joshua Howe (@Howevolution) February 6, 2020
And that was really all the news there was yesterday! At least until game time, as the Raptors hosted the Pacers, and Ujiri was on hand to witness yet another incredible Raptors performance.
Also got to see Masai laughing in the hall outside the locker room. He's staying.
— Daniel Reynolds (@aka_Reynolds) February 6, 2020
Then this morning, New York’s own Ian Begley chimed in, echoing Woj and Lowe:
On Knicks presidency search, people around James Dolan continue to have strong concerns about compensation package it might take to land Masai Ujiri, there’s serious pessimism about Knicks’ pursuit of him at the moment, per SNY sources. NYK continues to guage interest of agents.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 6, 2020
And then, moments after I (thought I) finished writing this thing, Woj bombed us yet again:
Reporting with @RamonaShelburne: CAA player agent Leon Rose has emerged as a top target to run the New York Knicks basketball operations, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
And shortly after that, Shams reported that it was close, then being finalized.
So there you have it. Hopefully Leon Rose will have a long and successful career as Knicks president and we never have to worry about James Dolan again. Meanwhile, we can close this little column off, at least until the summer. Thanks for reading!