Former Warriors GM: Knicks are in a ‘much better place’ under N.J. native Leon Rose

Bob Myers and Leon Rose share a common path in the basketball world.

Both are agents-turned-executives, Myers with the Golden State Warriors and Rose with the Knicks.

Myers has since left his role as GM of the Warriors for a gig with ESPN, and on Monday he praised what the Knicks have done under Rose, the Cherry Hill, N.J. native and graduate of Cherry Hill High School East, and his top lieutenant, Camden native William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley.

“They have done a great job,” Myers, the architect of Golden State’s four NBA championship teams, said on an ESPN conference call. “Because if you want to evaluate a front office, look at what it was when they got there and what it is now.

“I don’t think anybody would disagree that the Knicks are [in] a much better place than they were prior to Leon, [William Wesley] and [Tom] Thibodeau showing up. They made the playoffs.

“That’s a big improvement. Pretty close to home court in playoffs. I think they would have hoped for a better playoff run. But still, I mean, pretty darn good.”

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Myers’ comments echoed what Karl-Anthony Towns, the Edison native and former St. Joe’s-Metuchen star, said this past weekend about Rose, his former agent with CAA.

“They made multiple playoffs, made some good runs, brought hope and excitement to the Garden,” Towns, 27, said when his Minnesota Timberwolves were in town. “I don’t think [Rose] has done a bad job.”

Towns, the former No. 1 pick out of Kentucky, has been linked to the Knicks in trade rumors for several years now.

Whether he ends up with the Knicks or not, Myers said Rose has made New York a more attractive destination for free agents and players involved in trades.

“The Knicks...are positioned extremely well,” Myers said. “I think what has shifted from being an agent, from being in the league, there was a time where I felt like people may not have wanted to play in that city, and I think that’s changed.

“I think now you’re looking at murmurings, hearing things, hey, what about the Knicks and the draft capital they have allows them to -- it’s a realistic thing, right. It’s not just some layperson saying, ‘Well, the Knicks should go get this guy.’

“Now it’s viable. It’s possible. They have what it takes with the first-round picks in their cabinet to go do it. They have got a lot of good, young players on pretty affordable contracts.”

The only free agent the Knicks added this summer was shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo, now one of four former Villanova players on the roster along with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono.

The Knicks did not trade for Donovan Mitchell in 2022, although Mitchell later he was “very close” to joining New York via a trade from the Utah Jazz. Instead, he landed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team the Knicks beat in the first round of the playoffs.

Going forward, the Knicks could potentially be in play for superstars like Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo or another free agent down the line. Even if they don’t add a superstar, Myers said the Knicks can improve themselves simply by adding the right players to the mix.

“It doesn’t maybe have to be that superstar, but you hope you get something that unlocks everyone else or amplifies the rest of your team,” Myers said, adding that Andre Iguodala was that player on the Warriors’ championship teams.

“And I think the Knicks have been patient, and at least they haven’t done anything irrational in my mind. They haven’t had a big misstep where you would say, hey, look, they blew it on the wrong guy and that can set you back for years.

“So, I think there has to be a healthy amount impatience but not imprudent, and so I think that’s what the Knicks are looking at.”

With the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics favored in the East, and Embiid and the Sixers still a major factor, the challenge for the Knicks will be eventually getting to a place where they can compete with -- and beat -- those teams during the NBA playoffs.

“You’re kind of waiting for the next big thing, and the next thing they do, I think, will define them over the next four or five years,” Myers said. “I think that they want to go from good to great. They are good and trying to get to great, and that’s probably harder than going from bad to good, which I think they have already done.

“So now the question is: How do you get from that, you know, 5-4 seed to the 1-2 seed, and that’s going to be the challenge for them.”