SALT LAKE CITY — It’s easy to forget about the quiet, which in Knicks World means Leon Rose. We’re approaching five years — amazingly — since the team president answered questions from the independent media, and I’ve always maintained that’s poor practice because it avoids responsibility. If there’s no public explanation behind a move or a goal, there’s no accountability if it doesn’t work out.
So I appreciated James Dolan finally breaking his silence to WFAN last month, giving fans his on-the-record expectations for this season and reasoning for firing Tom Thibodeau. You don’t have to agree with Dolan, but you know where he stands and why he stands there. Rose stays completely away from such discussions and, frankly, people don’t care anymore. It’s just become an accepted part of Rose’s tenure at the top of the front office. Even Stephen A. Smith stopped screaming about it.
But that doesn’t mean Rose’s work isn’t his. We just have to be more creative, more willing to speculate, to determine why decisions were made.
And when the dust clears on this season — the biggest season for the franchise in 25 years — a large portion will be at the feet of Rose, the glory or blame, depending on whether the Knicks are playing Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
