NEW YORK — On Sunday, as the Knicks were set to begin their league-mandated NBA Finals media availability, Leon Rose emerged from a tunnel. Rose wasn’t headed to speak with reporters. He has not done that since taking over as New York’s president of basketball operations more than five years ago. No news conferences, no media gaggles. Just written statements and the occasional sit-down with a team-controlled outlet. And so as Knicks players settled in front of microphones, Rose hopped into the back of an SUV and was whisked away.
To many in New York, Rose is a bit of a mystery. He’s the New Jersey–bred ex-player agent who grinded his way to the top of the profession. He represented everyone from Allen Iverson to LeBron James, building CAA’s basketball division into a powerhouse. In 2020, Knicks owner James Dolan, seeking his version of Bob Myers, the former agent turned Warriors top executive who built Golden State into a dynasty, tapped Rose to run the Knicks. Reporters who have spent time around him say it’s easier to get him into a conversation about Bruce Springsteen than any team transaction.
He’s also effective. In his five full seasons, the Knicks have finished at least 10 games above .500 in four of them. They have reached 50 wins in each of the last three. Last season, New York finished two wins short of the Finals. This year, they are two wins away from a championship.
“I think he has a great basketball mind,” said Jalen Brunson. “The way he’s been able to do this, especially here with all the scrutiny people do to him and everything, I just think the way he goes about his business is as good as anyone.”
Any list of Rose’s accomplishments begins with Brunson. In 2022, the Knicks poached Brunson from Dallas, signing him to a four-year, $104 million deal. The contract raised eyebrows: Brunson was coming off a solid season with the Mavericks. He averaged 16.3 points per game and had a strong postseason. But concerns about his size (6’2″) and shot creation lingered. Many wondered if Rose’s history with Brunson—he represented Brunson’s father, Rick, in his years as an agent and was a longtime family friend—clouded his judgment. At the time, Sports Illustrated graded the signing a “C.”
It’s been considerably better. The Knicks will admit they didn’t see this—a perennial MVP candidate who has developed into one of the most clutch fourth-quarter scorers in the NBA—but they did see something. Brunson averaged 24.0 points in his first season. He earned an All-Star nod in his second. Last season he won the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award. This season he was named to an All-NBA team for the third straight year.
From there, Rose has deliberately built a team around Brunson. In 2023, he flipped Cam Reddish and a first-round pick for Josh Hart. The move reunited Brunson and Hart, former Villanova teammates. It also brought to the Knicks a reliable wing defender. Months later Rose acquired another one, trading RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby.
In 2024, after the Knicks were bounced from the second round for the second straight season, Rose got bold. He flipped five first-round picks to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges, adding another perimeter defender. In the fall, he shipped Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns. That same offseason he convinced Brunson to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension—more than $100 million less than the maximum amount.
Rose, said Brunson, “surrounds himself with good people.” It’s a collaborative process in New York. William Wesley—“World Wide Wes” to those in NBA circles—is Rose’s top lieutenant. Frank Zanin, the ex-Nets exec with decades of front office experience, is an influential voice on pro personnel. Brock Aller is a deeply respected salary capologist, and Gersson Rosas is a former top exec in Minnesota.
It isn’t just the moves that Rose has made. It’s the ones he didn’t make. He didn’t overpay for Donovan Mitchell, when Utah made the New York native available in 2022. He didn’t make a ridiculous offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo last February, when the Bucks were discussing deals for the two-time MVP.
“Leon and his staff,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown, “have done a freakin’ fantastic job.”
Last summer, Brown’s hiring was controversial. The decision to fire Tom Thibodeau was polarizing. New York failed to advance to the Finals last season. But it advanced further than it had in 25 years. For Rose, it was a tough call. He had hired Thibodeau. Been close friends with him. Represented him. But Thibodeau’s coaching style wore on some inside the Knicks, including Dolan. Rose had protected Thibodeau before. This time, he had to go.
In searching for a replacement, the Knicks cast a wide net. For a while it got cartoonish. They were rejected by Dallas to talk to Jason Kidd. By Chicago to talk to Billy Donovan. By Atlanta with Quin Snyder. In June, ESPN reported that Rose was denied five times in a week. Brown, though, was always intriguing. For his experience, which included four stints as an NBA head coach. For his defensive acumen. For his willingness to be collaborative.
Knicks president Leon Rose and coach Mike Brown have the team on the cusp of their first title in 53 years. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
“Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organization,” Rose said in, you guessed it, a statement last summer. “His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant coach, and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us as we aim to bring a championship to New York for our fans.”
They are almost there. The Knicks’ 53-year title drought isn’t the longest in the NBA. It just feels like it. Fans have suffered through decades of heartache. The blown 3–2 lead in the 1994 Finals. The Cinderella run in 1999 that came up just short. The Stephon Marbury era, the Carmelo Anthony era. The pre-Rose years where the team racked up win totals that looked like locker combinations. A championship won’t be the franchise’s first. It may be its most important.
If it happens, don’t expect Rose to be around to talk about it. “For the time I’ve known him, basically my entire life, he’s always been that way,” said Brunson. It may irk fans who want answers and reporters seeking more, but that’s Rose. After the Knicks clinched the conference finals, a camera phone–wielding fan zoomed in on Rose having an emotional moment with his son, Sam, who is now Brunson’s agent. That’s the closest thing anyone will get to a reaction.
The Knicks don’t care. They want Rose to do a job. One he’s proven to be good at. “He’s always willing to help, always [looking] to have the best possible outcome possible,” said Brunson. “That’s just who he is.”
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