According to several people familiar with the Knicks thinking, Dolan is plotting to take another run at Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. It would take Phil Jackson-type money to lure Ujiri to New York but spending the big bucks is never an issue for Dolan. The issue is always hiring the right person, but in Ujiri, unlike Jackson, Mills and Perry, the Knicks would be bringing in an executive who has built a championship team.
Ujiri is under contract through the 2021 season and the Raptors ownership group will do anything and everything to keep him. However, Ujiri is an ambitious guy with powerful friends in high places, and we’re not just talking about Barack Obama. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a close friend who remains forever frustrated with the train wreck in his own backyard that is the Knicks.
Ujiri’s possible arrival in New York could potentially put the Knicks in play for Giannis Antetokounmpo as well. Ujiri is well connected to some of today’s top stars. Mills claimed to be but couldn’t even get a sit down with Irving and/or Durant. That’s another plan he sold to Dolan that fell flat.
Several NBA executives and scouts in town for last week’s college basketball doubleheader at the Garden were linking Ujiri to the Knicks, so the story is making the rounds in NBA circles. As of last week, the plan was for Dolan to give Mills, Perry and Fizdale the rest of the season to figure things out. But things change quickly in Dolan’s world.