The New York Knicks are looking to make some more personnel moves this year.
They already fired head coach Dave Fizdale on Dec. 6 after starting the season 4-18. But things haven’t gotten much better. In the nearly two months since then, the team has won only 10 games, including a 92-85 victory over the Pacers on Saturday night.
Apparently, Knicks owner James Dolan might not be satisfied with just getting rid of Fizdale. Rumor is that Dolan could be looking to clean house in the front office.
And Sam Presti is reportedly one of the potential replacements that he’s interested in.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Dolan could look to bring in Presti, that is if he’s unable to get Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri.
“Dolan would love to pry Masai Ujiri out of Toronto, but there’s skepticism it can done with the team president under contract. Such a deal would be very complicated if the Raptors play hardball. Another name being mentioned around the league is Thunder president Sam Presti.”
Presti has been on Dolan’s radar for some time now. And considering the Thunder’s success this season, it’s not really surprising.
2019-20 was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Oklahoma City after Presti traded away both Paul George and Russell Westbrook during the offseason.
In return, Presti brought in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and Chris Paul, along with a boatload of draft picks.
Those pieces have fit together better than anyone could’ve anticipated, and instead of being at the bottom of the Western Conference, the Thunder are sitting solidly in seventh place and on their way to a postseason appearance.
Presti is only 43, and under his leadership, Oklahoma City has 10 winning seasons in 12 years, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2012.
When it comes to Presti’s potential interest in New York, previous reports have indicated that Presti could be allowed to leave if an opportunity presented itself.
