New Year’s Day wasn’t a confidence-builder for Knicks fans.
Silly me for thinking Leon Rose would talk to the media on Monday before the Knicks’ 112-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden. I figured the Knicks president of basketball operations would discuss his recent trade, in which he traded RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and the 2024 second-round pick for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn.
He never did. Instead, he offered a generic statement in a press release on Sunday, welcoming his new acquisitions to the Knicks family and mentioning the game of his new players. He didn’t even bother to thank Barrett and Quickley for their contributions to the Knicks and wish them well.
Stay classy, Leon!
Maybe it’s just me, but he owes it to the public to talk to the media, explaining why he made the trade and explaining the new players more. After all, it’s part of his job description as Knicks president to convey his message to paying customers who go to the Garden to watch his players.
What exactly does Rose have to hide here? To conduct his business like he runs the Pentagon should be beneath him, especially for a guy who’s done nothing to make the Knicks a championship contender. For a franchise that hasn’t won a championship in 50 years and counting, this is just arrogance on his part. His behavior would make it hard for anyone to embrace the Knicks. This is just bad public relations.
The Knicks are now 18-15 for the season, which is good for a seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. This means they would play in a play-in game if the playoffs began today. After high expectations to start this season, they have underachieved so far.
It’s not like this trade will make the Knicks NBA title contenders. In fact, I doubt very seriously that the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and or any Western Conference team, for that matter, are losing sleep worrying about what the Knicks did.
Watching Anunoby and Achiuwa play for the first time, I saw them ofter little. Sure, it’s only one game, but I’d like to think they could have done so much more to make a positive first impression. From what I saw of Anunoby, he is a poor man’s version of Obi Toppin, a nice energy player who will defend and throw down high-flying dunks and consistently space the floor.”
Making a move like that shouldn’t give Rose any reason to stay silent. An explanation as to why those guys are here must be given instead of making the fans figure it out for themselves. And no, it’s not the media’s job or even my job to figure it out.
This type of behavior causes more harm to the product than the general fan admits. Knicks fans seem to be okay with this behavior for some reason. It’s one thing if the franchise actually won something, but that hasn’t been the case under James Dolan’s inept stewardship. Winning one playoff series isn’t exactly an accomplishment. Any mediocre franchise can do that as the fourth or fifth seed.
That’s why I always appreciated Dave Checketts, Pat Riley, and Donnie Walsh. They were always accountable when they made a move by talking to the media about it. It brought franchise class and credibility, and it’s why the public cherished the team back then.
Rose is doing himself no favors. If this trade turns out to be a bust and the Knicks fail to make it to the Eastern Conference finals, he will be criticized more than he realizes. The least he could have done was an in-house interview with MSG Network’s Mike Breen, the Knicks play-by-play announcer. Apparently, that was also beneath him.
Come to think of it, It was stunning that Rose wrote a press release in English. Maybe for his next move, he should write it in Latin.
