The 13 Knick Rebuilds Since their Last Title: Rebuild #13 — Leon Rose Builds NBA Champs!

June 16, 2026 Lou V Knickstory 0

13. The Leon Rose Rebuild

Orchestrator:

  • Leon Rose, with:
    • William “World Wide Wes” Wesley (Rose’s confidant),
    • Brock Aller (a salary-cap maven),
    • Scott Perry (the holdover GM who had done a good job getting the Knicks well under the cap with short-term contracts and some good players like Julius Randle),
    • Frank Zanin, and
    • Gersson Rosas (a consultant at first who took over the role of GM when Perry left).

Background:

  • Rose inherited a team that was in the gutter — due in part to bad coaching by David Fizdale — who was a poor pick by the prior management team of Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry. By the time Leon Rose took over, Fizdale had already been fired and replaced by Mike Miller.
  • Mills and Perry had at least put NY in good position Salary Cap wise with better talent than it had had in years. They had assembled, via the “Moneyball Free Agent Summer of 2019”, a roster that included Julius Randle, who signed a very club-favorable 5-yr, $25M/yr contract, and a bunch of players who had signed 1-2 year contracts that provided flexibility for NY to stay under the cap in the coming years. That roster included Bobby Portis, who signed a 2-yr contract in summer 2019, and Marcus Morris, who signed a 1-year contract. Despite the losing, Morris and Randle played well together — and because of the losing — NY traded Morris to the Clippers in December 2019 for a 1st-round pick that would become Immanuel Quickley. NY also had former NY draft picks RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.

Details:

  1. Leon Rose Hired: Former agent Leon Rose was hired as executive in charge of the Knicks on March 2, 2020 — with the Knicks heading to a 21-45 season.
  2. Tom Thibodeau hired as coach — Thibs instituted his system and gave the Knicks an identity of Defensive Intensity. The GM got players for Thibs system — a perfect situation for any basketball team. It wasn’t perfect at first — there were a few players acquired that weren’t Thibs’ cup of tea — like Cam Reddish. But by year 3, the GM team adjusted and started getting only players that appeared to have Thibs’ blessing.
  3. Obi Toppin drafted with the 8th pick of the 2020 draft.
  4. Immanuel Quickley drafted 25th overall in the 2020 draft by Oklahoma City — was acquired on draft night in exchange for the Knicks’ 1st-rd pick that they had received from the Clippers for Marcus Morris. Quickley was reportedly a favorite of World Wide Wes.
  5. Miles McBride drafted in the 2nd round of the 2021 draft. He was reportedly a Thibs favorite.
  6. Kemba Walker signed to minor free agent deal in Summer 2021. NY had been lambasted for not signing Walker in the summer of 2019, and relented to signing him in 2021. But his knees were done; it was a bad contract. Walker was then traded on draft night 2022 with Jalen Duren (who NY had acquired in an exchange of 1st-round draft picks minutes earlier) to Detroit. The Knicks lost out on Jalen Duren to dump Walker’s contract. This trade gave them the cap space to sign… Jalen Brunson.
  7. Jalen Brunson signed in summer of 2022 to a 4-year, $100M contract — universally made fun of at the time by the main-stream sports media. They had not done their homework — top guards in the Western Conference all said Brunson was That Good. Brunson later signed a 4-year, $156.5 million contract extension in 2024. By doing this a year early, he bypassed over $113 million in guaranteed maximum money, providing the Knicks the exact salary cap flexibility required to get other players needed to build the team that would win the NBA Finals.
  8. Isaiah Hartenstein signed in summer of 2022 to a 2-yr contract averaging $8.5 M a year. The NY sports media poo-pooed the signing. Hartenstein played so-so at first due to an injury but came on to be an elite force for NY inside. Two years later, Stephen A. Smith made fun of the Knicks for having a player like Hartenstein on their team — not knowing he was a key part of a 2-headed monster at center for the Knicks team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
  9. Mitchell Robinson not traded. There were numerous rumors through the years that Robinson might be traded, especially after NY signed Hartenstein. But the rumors were false — Thibs was a big fan of Robinson and his ability to affect the game with his defense and offensive rebounding.
  10. Josh Hart acquired for Cam Reddish as part of a 4-team trade in February 2023. Cam was acquired in January 2022 for Kevin Knox. Hart later signed a 4-year, $81 million contract extension on August 10, 2023 — the $25M/yr was made fun of by the media, who felt it was too large a contract for a defensive specialist.
  11. Donte DiVincenzo signed in summer, 2023 to a 4-year, $50M deal. Even though the contract called for only $11M a year, it was universally made fun of by the mainstream sports media who felt it was too large for a player who averaged 9.4 ppg with Golden State the year prior to the contract signing.
  12. OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa acquired for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley on December 30, 2023. The deal of the century for NY. Barrett was a ball-dominant guard who needed the ball to excel, and was a lefty. NY already had lefties Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. OG on the other hand was a player who plays well off the ball, hits the 3 off the pass, and is an All League defender. Quickley was in the final year of his contract and was looking for $25M a year — which he got from Toronto. Trading him opened up playing time for Miles McBride — who played just as well as Quickley. After the trade NY immediately renewed McBride’s contract for 3 years at $4M a year. Precious did great for NY during the 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 seasons before the let him go as a free agent in order to sign Guerschon Yabusele for his 3-pt shooting.
  13. Obi Toppin traded to Indiana for hardly anything in return (two 2nd-round picks) on July 7, 2023. Toppin played 3 years for NY before becoming pissed at his lack of playing time behind Randle, even though Obi was first man off bench playing 20 minutes a night — which is exactly the role he ended up playing in Indiana. A video surfaced of Toppin cursing Thibs out in the gym a few weeks before he was traded to the Pacers. But Toppin and his energy and killer 3’s were a big reason why Indiana beat NY in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2025, which may have been the last straw that caused the firing of Tom Thibodeau.
  14. Tyler Kolek acquired on draft night, 2024 from Portland in an exchange of 2nd-round picks. Kolek is a standout point guard’s point guard — and won regular season games for NY in 2025-26 — especially before NY acquired Jose Alvarado.
  15. Mikal Bridges acquired from Brooklyn for five (5) 1st-round draft picks. The NY sports media Ripped the Knicks for trading 5 1st-round picks for Bridges, and NY Knick fans followed suit. “Five 1st-round picks” became a saying that Knick players spit back at everyone after winning the title in 2026.
  16. Hartenstein lost to free agency in summer 2024, as Oklahoma City could offer him more than Knicks could — a 3-yr deal averaging close to $30M a year. Was the final piece on a championship Oklahoma City team.
  17. Karl-Anthony Towns acquired for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo just before the 2024-25 season began. KAT, an All League top 10 player (if not top 5) became the sidekick superstar to 1A player Brunson. NY reportedly did not want to part with DiVincenzo — but Minnesota demanded him.
  18. Landry Shamet signed to a 1-yr contact in summer 2024, and re-signed to a 1-yr contract in summer 2025.
  19. Ariel Hukporti signed to a 2-way contract in summer 2024 — the 7 footer became a standout 3rd-string center, playing some valuable minutes in the playoffs especially when NY took on teams with big centers like Philly with Joel Embiid and San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama. Hukporti outplayed Jericho Sims — who had great jumping ability but at 6’10 was undersized at center.
  20. Thibs was Fired at end of 2024-25 season after disappointing loss in Eastern Conference Finals to Indiana Pacers. Mike Brown hired as coach. His assignment — get the most out of his stellar team of assistant coaches, whom Thibs apparently wasn’t making enough use of.
  21. Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson signed as free agents in summer 2025.
  22. Jose Alvarado acquired on Feb 26, 2026 from New Orleans for Dalen Terry and cash; NY had picked up Terry from Chicago for Guerschon Yabusele.

All of It Made Fun Of by Mainstream Sports Media & NY Press

It is important to remember that the main-stream sports media and local NY media made fun of the Knicks for almost every move they made during this rebuild — mocking the signings of Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Donte DiVincenzo, as well as the trade for OG Anunoby (trading away RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley), the trading of Cam Reddish for Josh Hart, and the trade of 5 1st-round picks for Mikal Bridges.

How It Played Out

The 1st Year

41-31 and the playoffs. Lost to Atlanta 4 games to 1 in 1st round as they double-teamed Randle.

  • The year of rejuvenation. Coach Tom Thibodeau molded the Knicks into a team with an Identity — based on Defense and Intensity. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett starred. Thibs had Elfrid Payton at the point guard position. Mitchell Robinson was huge and Nerlens Noel was also key up front. Derrick Rose joined the team to help at the guard position, and Reggie Bulluck hit big buckets.

The 2nd Year

37-45 — a fall-back year.

  • As Thibs said at the time, this happens often — teams on the rise have fallbacks. Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker were brought in to help with the offense — and they did not work out. They were not Thibs’-type players. Quentin Grimes stepped up as a terrific young player. Alec Burks was NY’s 4th leading scorer.

The 3rd Year

47-35 — beat Cleveland 4 games to 1, but lost to Miami 4 games to 2 in a tight series.

  • Jalen Brunson became the Knicks star, with Julius Randle the co-star. Barrett was #3 star. Immanuel Quickley became a force. Obi Toppin hit 3’s off the bench and ran the break. Barrett said he loved playing with Quick and Obi on the break.
  • Cam Reddish was a disappointment — he played well at times but in one game played like he was stoned, coughing up the ball several times and the last time falling to the ground and taking his time getting up as the ball went the other way. Thibs pulled him and never played him again — causing massive complaints by some Knick fans. Two months later Reddish was traded for Josh Hart — and the foundation of the Villanova Connection was laid.
  • NY made the playoffs and beat Cleveland in a tough series, and then took on red-hot Miami in an even tougher series. NY had beaten Boston during the regular season and there were some thoughts that if NY could beat Miami, they would beat Boston and go to the Finals. But red-hot Miami beat NY 4 games to 2 — each game razor close. Miami then blew out Boston 3 straight times to take a 3-0 lead, before relenting as Boston came back to tie the series 3-3. Miami Blew Out Boston in game 7 to go to the Finals. The Knicks seemed on the verge of a Finals appearance.

The 4th Year

50-32 — beat Philly 4 games to 2, but lost to Indiana 4 games to 3.

The Injury Year.

  • NY’s acquisition of OG Anunoby at the end of December, 2023 seemed the perfect fit. NY became one of the hottest teams in the NBA in January 2024 — crushing top teams like Golden State and Miami. But Mitchell Robinson went down with a stress fracture to his ankle, and then Julius Randle separated his shoulder late in a game against Miami on January 27, 2024 — with NY leading by 14 and 4 minutes left Randle got the ball ahead of the field and instead of passing to an open Brunson in the corner or holding the ball to take time off the clock, he bulldozed into 2 Miami defenders and crashed to the floor. He would never play for the Knicks again.
  • NY beat Philly in the playoffs, but Joel Embiid became a human wrecking ball in his attempt to show Philly fans he shouldn’t be booed for not being intense enough. Embiid ended up getting his feet under Mitchell Robinson who had returned from surgery to his ankle — causing a re-injury and forcing Robinson from the playoffs.
  • Without Randle and Robinson, NY had to play Hart, Hartenstein, and Anunoby major minutes against Indiana. OG went down with a hamstring and then even Hart pulled a muscle in his midsection. In the final game 7, Brunson broke his hand late in the game.

The 5th Year

51-31 — beat a HOT Detroit team 4 games to 2; beat the Defending Champ Boston Celtics 4 games to 2; lost to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, 4 games to 2.

  • A Bitter-, Bitter-Sweet year as NY under Thibs Rocked — and beat a Red Hot Detroit team in the 1st round, then solidly beat the defending champ Celtics in round 2.
  • KAT was the perfect compliment to Brunson — and his Defense was much improved under Thibs. KAT’s defense against Jayson Tatum was a big factor for the Knicks in the series.
  • NY was expected to beat Indiana and go to the finals. NY commanded game 1 at Madison Square Garden, leading by 14 pts with 4 minutes left. But Aaron Nesmith went on a 3-pt BARAGE off all 3-pt BARAGES — going 5-5 from 3 in the final minutes. NY was still poised to win the game when Maurice Haliburton took a shot at the buzzer that rimmed out — and up — and fell back in to tie the game. Indiana won game 1 in Overtime and the series turned — NY lost all their mojo.
  • Former Knick Obi Toppin was another Knick nemesis in the series, hitting 3’s and making spectacular dunks on the break — taking it to Tom Thibodeau who had him traded.
  • That may have been the final straw as Thibs was fired a few days after the season ended — stunning Knick fans.
  • NY went on a coaching hunt — with public rumors that they asked 5 different teams to interview their head coach and were denied each time — before they hired Mike Brown, who was unemployed after being fired by Sacramento earlier in the season.
  • In the coming year, it would come out that the main reason Thibs was fired was because he wasn’t listening to — or getting the most from — his stellar team of Assistant Coaches.

The 6th Year

53-29

  • Beat Atlanta 4 games to 2
  • Beat Philly 4 games to 0
  • Beat Cleveland 4 games to 0 in Eastern Conference Finals
  • Beat San Antonio 4 games to 1 in NBA Finals to WIN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!

Mike Brown came in as coach, and throughout the year, kept going out of his way to make special mention of his great assistant coaching team. Midway through the year, owner James Dolan said Thibs was fired because he was a “lone wolf” and the modern NBA required collaboration of a team of coaches.

  • Brown instituted some new defensive and offensive strategies, and it took time for the Knick players to adopt them — causing an uneven regular season.
  • After losing two 1-pt games to Atlanta in the 1st rd, to fall behind 2 games to 1 in the best-of-7 series — NY got pissed and blew Atlanta off the court the next 3 games — beginning an amazing stretch of 13 straight playoff wins.
  • NY beat Atlanta so badly, Hawks fans were talking about breaking up the team after the series — despite the fact that Atlanta has a young team that was one of the hottest in the 2nd half of the season.
  • NY beat Philly so badly, the 76’er gave up the final game. Philly 76’er fans were talking about breaking up the team after the series — despite the fact that Philly had just come from 3-1 back to beat Boston.
  • NY beat Cleveland so badly, the Cavaliers gave up the final game. Cleveland fans were talking about breaking up the team after the series — despite the fact that Cleveland had just come from behind to beat 60-win Detroit.
  • NY dominated San Antonio — despite playing the series with 1 hand tied behind their back as NBA refs took KAT out early in the last 3 games with ticky-tack fouls.
  • Every move Rose made came to fruition in the end:
    • Jalen Brunson dominated and became the #1 player in the NBA.

    • KAT and Mitchell Robinson tag-teamed Wemby, with Hukporti playing some key minutes too. KAT dominated Wemby in the first 2 games before the NBA refs took him out with fouls the last 3 games.
    • OG was a hero.
    • Jose Alvarado ended up being a key player at the point.
    • Hart was heroic; Shamet too. Clarkson was a key scorer off the bench.
    • Coach Brown orchestrated an amazing assistant coaching staff — the Knicks were amazing on offense with offensive displays that were described as ‘beautiful basketball’, and amazing on Defense.

Result:

  • THE 2025-26 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tune back in for Rebuild #8. Follow us on Twitter and we’ll notify you when the post is up.

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