Earlier today, we were given an early peek at Steve Mills’ interview with Spike Lee on XM Radio via ESPN New York, where the Knicks GM said that he and team president Phil Jackson could “do something special” while working together. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News weighed-in on the interview, passing along that Mills’ original plan upon being hired was to hire someone to run day-to-day basketball operations while then focusing on the business side of things. Ironically, Mills is now operating under the direction of a basketball executive.
Here’s what else we’ve gathered out of the Atlantic Division, including more from Isola:
- During the interview, Mills claimed that he gave up his title as president and retained his title as general manager once Jackson was hired, which implies that Mills had a choice in the matter, opines Isola.
- Isola says it’s unclear if Jackson still plans to hire his own personnel guy and what that could mean for Mills. Mills has suggested that his strengths lie in his relationships with players and agents, though Isola wonders how that will mesh with Jackson plans. The Knicks president recently told the media that he doesn’t plan to work as closely with agents or any one agency as the team had done in recent years.
- One source tells Isola that Mills was prepared to make a coaching change on several occasions this season; Mike Woodson was ultimately kept on board because the team had either gone on a winning streak or owner James Dolan decided to overrule Mills.
- Celtics guard Rajon Rondo hasn’t asked management to inform him about personnel decisions, but he told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he’d like to know what direction the team is going in: “I want to be aware of what’s going on, especially if I’m part of the future here…And being the point guard, I would like to know what the team has in store or wants to do or the moves they want to make. I think I’ll be around in Boston this summer and I’ll look forward to what’s going to happen. I’m very excited.”
- This offseason, Boston will have plenty of available assets at their disposal to make significant moves, details Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.