Knicks hire Scott Perry as GM, promote Steve Mills to President

Roughly two weeks after parting ways with Phil Jackson, the Knicks have named Scott Perry as their next general manager. New York also promoted Steve Mills to president, a role that the 57-year old once held for a brief time in early-2013.

The Knicks had originally targeted more-experienced names such as Masai Ujiri of Toronto, and David Griffin, the former general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once Griffin pulled his name out of consideration, Mills ushered his first move as acting general manager: signing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a multi-year contract. It is expected that Perry will handle the bulk of the transactions from here on out.

Perry’s first front office position had been with the Detroit Pistons back in 2000, where he helped lead the franchise to six Eastern Conference Finals appearances (2003-2008), two Eastern Conference Championships (2004, 2005), and the 2004 NBA Championship. Afterward, he briefly served as the assistant general manager for the Seattle Supersonics, and was part of the team that selected Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft.

In 2017, Perry was hired to be the assistant general manager for the Orlando Magic, and brought in Victor Oladipo (2013), Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton (2014), and Mario Hezonja (2015). Shortly after his dismissal, the Kings hired Perry to work under general manager Vlade Divac. In addition to the enormous mid-season trade of DeMarcus Cousins, Perry played a role in selecting De’Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson and Harry Giles in the 2017 NBA Draft. He had also been around when the team signed George Hill, Vince Carter, and Zach Randolph in free agency.

“Today marks a culture change for our organization where we re-establish the pride, work ethic, and responsibility that comes with playing for the Knicks and representing New York,” Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan said in a statement.

Mills, who has been under Dolan’s wing for over a decade, had been named the Knicks president and general manager in 2013, but relinquished his title of president after the organization hired Phil Jackson. According to the New Jersey native, the Knicks will focus on "developing young players and emphasizing athleticism and defense.” The franchise is expected to build around Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Willy Hernangomez, and Frank Ntilikina.

The Knicks were 80-166 during Jackson’s three seasons, which equates to the fifth-worst record in the NBA over that span. Realistically, it could be several years before the team returns to a state of contention, but that will all hinge on the status of Carmelo Anthony. The 33-year old has been surrounded by trade rumors involving the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Knicks have yet to pull the trigger on any potential deal.

Immediately after the Perry agreement had been announced, New York broke off trade talks with Houston, which seemingly means that they will now regroup with their new general manager in the fold. Perry’s first task will be a difficult one, as he must decide how to handle his star, albeit disgruntled, forward in Carmelo Anthony. Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, the Anthony saga comes to a close very soon, but with a reported four-way deal involved, it could take a considerable amount of time to hammer out all of the details.

Making Sense out of the Stepan/Raanta Trade

Yesterday, the New York Rangers elected to trade both center Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. For the Rangers, the move marked the first significant step in an effort to get younger, while the Coyotes have continued their journey in adding game-changing faces to their roster.

Recapping the Knicks' 2017 NBA Draft

All eyes were on the Knicks going into yesterday’s NBA Draft. Days prior, rumors surrounded the team regarding their sudden consideration to trade franchise player Kristaps Porzingis, and GM Phil Jackson received a massive beating from the New York media as a result. Jackson ultimately decided to hold onto the 21-year Latvian native, and moved forward with his three scheduled picks in the draft. In the end, the Knicks found themselves with Frank Ntilikina (No. 8), Damyean Dotson (No. 44) and Ognjen Jaramaz (No. 58), but failed to deal any of their trade chips, including Carmelo Anthony, Courtney Lee, and Kyle O’Quinn. Overall, Knicks fans seem ‘okay’ with the three selections, but this is just the beginning for the Knicks front office. While Jackson begins to ponder his next move, let’s take a look at each draft selection and attempt to predict their future contributions in the NBA.

Four Reasons Why The Eberle Trade Makes Sense

On Thursday, the New York Islanders acquired winger Jordan Eberle from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Ryan Strome. The trade has been seen positively by most Islander fans, and rightfully so, as Eberle has established himself as a formidable NHL starter and equips the team with a solid wing option to pair with captain John Tavares. Rather than simply list factual information, let’s provide four reasons as to why this is an excellent trade for the Islanders.

Golden Knights select Isles' Berube, Rangers' Lindberg in Expansion Draft

With the Las Vegas Golden Knights franchise set to make their NHL debut this upcoming fall, there had been a ton of speculation leading up to the league’s first expansion draft since 2000. Teams scrambled to protect their essential players, but many expected that the Golden Knights would have access to more than enough talent to fill out a competitive roster. The Islanders and Rangers, in particular, had some tough choices to make. Let’s take a look at how each team fared as a result of the expansion draft.

Phil Jackson's Blueprint for the 2017 NBA Draft

With a combined 80-166 win-loss record over the past three seasons, it is safe to say that the Knicks are not where they want to be as a franchise. The team went through a massive overhaul in the summer of 2016, but the moves have clearly blown back in their faces, to say the least. Joakim Noah, who inked a four-year, $72 million deal, flamed out after 46 games and faces a questionable future in New York. Derrick Rose, brought to the Knicks in a trade with the Bulls, was impressive, but will likely walk via free agency in a few weeks.

The Knicks quickly became the laughingstock of the NBA, as a result of incidents involving Charles Oakley, Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis, among others. The future of the franchise is currently at a crossroads, and it up to GM Phil Jackson to clean the mess up. With the NBA Draft right around the corner, Jackson will face some tough decisions. While it is doubtful that he goes on a trade frenzy tonight, let’s take a look at a few logical moves that the Knicks should make that would lead them in the right direction.

It is Time to Play Wilmer Flores Everyday

As we know, the Mets have been dealt a bad hand regarding the health of their core players. Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Jeurys Familia headline the group of Mets that are currently on the disabled list, and for a team that is already 11.5 GB behind the Washington Nationals in the division race, hope may be slowly dwindling down. Some have called for Terry Collins’ head, while others petition for the removal of Matt Harvey from the starting rotation. For the Mets, an organization that is typically conservative with shaking up their coach and player personnel, it would be unreasonable to expect any impactful moves in the near future. One thing that they can do, and have already begun to test out, however, has been the idea of making Wilmer Flores the full-time third baseman.

 

People know the story about Flores. On July 29, 2015, rumors spread all over social media that he, along with Zack Wheeler, had been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Carlos Gomez. Despite the buzz, Flores remained in the game against the San Diego Padres, and was visibly emotional, presumably due to his desire to stay in New York. After the game, GM Sandy Alderson spoke to reporters and informed them that any potential trade had fallen off the table. Flores then became an immediate fan favorite as a result of his obvious passion to remain with the Mets franchise.

Flores poured his heart out on that rainy night in Flushing, and it is now time for the Mets to finally reward him by giving him the starting third base job.

As hard as it is to admit, David Wright’s playing days are likely over. The 34-year old has been severely limited to just 75 games in the past two seasons, and the Mets would be wise to been exploring their options regarding a potential buy-out. After Wright’s latest setback in spring training, New York elected to allow Jose Reyes, a fellow fan favorite, to continue his comeback tour by letting him start at third base to open the season. However, Reyes had a dreadful beginning to the season, going 7-67 (.104) with 0 RBI in the first 19 games. The poor performance forced the Mets hand to involve more of their role players, such as Flores and even T.J Rivera.

While it is always smarter to turn to the more youthful player, moving Flores as a full-time player would not just be about the future. The truth of the matter is he is capable of great things when playing on a consistent basis, evident by his 2015 season. That year, .263/.295/.408 with 16 HR and 59 RBI, and helped the Mets reach their first World Series since 2000. If you are looking for a more recent example, let’s look at his statistics from this past May.

Last month, which had been when he saw a considerable uptick in playing time, Flores led the National League with a .379 average, hit one home run and collected 11 RBI. Perhaps most importantly, the 25-year old began to handle right handed pitching, which had previously been his Achilles heel. He is currently hitting .302/.330/.448 against righties in 2017, and a monstrous .370/.393/.630 against southpaws. As a .261 career hitter, it would be tough to imagine him keeping up this pace for the remainder of the season, but it is promising nonetheless.

Right now, the Mets need to do everything they can to win games, and Flores’ hot streak has provided an immediate jolt to an otherwise deprived lineup. While Reyes may be the once-established veteran, it is clearly better for Collins to continue to ride the hot hand and possibly see what the franchise truly has in Flores moving forward. With the possible retirement of David Wright and free agency departure from Jose Reyes around the corner, the Mets do not want to be caught with their pants down when the third base dilemma resurfaces this winter.