NBA Exec of the Year Vote: Was Knicks' Leon Rose Robbed?

Leon Rose and the New York Knicks' front office fell well short of the credit they deserve in the NBA's Executive of the Year tally.

If the New York Knicks' biggest problem is missing out on awards in between NBA playoff tip-offs, that's perhaps the definition of a first-world problem, especially in hardwood affairs.

The failure to recognize the creation of that trip, however, nonetheless stands as frustrating from a metropolitan perspective.

The Association continues to unveil the voting results of its end-of-year accolades throughout the playoffs and the Knicks' primary decisionmaker was not well-represented in the Executive of the Year postings on Wednesday: it's perhaps a win in of itself that New York president Leon Rose was among the 15 names to appear on the ballot but the agent-turned-exec placed eighth on the list and did not receive any first-place votes.

Here is NBA Executive of the Year voting (NYK’s Leon Rose & BKN’s Sean Marks received votes): pic.twitter.com/EN2LYEvD15

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 3, 2023

One look at the results strongly implies that the vote was taken before teams started to move on the NBA playoff bracket. Sacramento's resurgent season ended in seven-game, first-round disappointment against Golden State but what the Kings lack in postseason advancement they more than make up for in awards: general manager Monte McNair took home the title, joining fellow purple honorees Mike Brown (Coach of the Year) and De'Aaron Fox (Clutch Player of the Year). 

Elsewhere, Cleveland's Koby Altman took second place ostensibly for the Donovan Mitchell deal, which produced only seven more wins, dealing away the newly-minted Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen (whose new boss, Utah's Justin Zanik, placed third), and, of course, a first-round loss to the Knicks. In another bizarre tidbit, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks received a single first-place vote despite dismantling one of the most potent "Big 3" groups in recent memory. 

Rose's exclusion from the top contenders, however, remains most puzzling. There's perhaps no shame in falling to the good vibes around the Kings' thrilling, if not futile, postseason run, its first in nearly two decades, and McNair made his mark by adding Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, and rookie Keegan Murray. It's perhaps surprising to see Zanik recognized considering his Jazz fell short of any postseason consideration, but Utah is set up well for the future considering they picked up immediate contributors Markkanen and Collin Sexton in addition to future assets in the form of three Cleveland first-round picks.

But placing Rose behind Atlman, riding almost entirely on the Mitchell trade, and others is an insult to what he and his fellow New York decisonmakers have done this season. 

Rose, for example, was widely ridiculed for treating last summer's NBA Draft as a de facto budget builder by trading pricey top picks and veteran contracts away, but it paid off when the Knicks landed their primary target of Jalen Brunson on a four-year, $104 million deal. Further ridicule came after Brunson's post-playoff breakout price tag was unveiled but he went on to fulfill (and continues to fulfill) every expectation placed upon him and then some, to the point where it was likewise insulting that the point guard wasn't seriously involved in the MVP discussion. 

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Even when the Knicks missed out on Mitchell, Rose carried on a busy summer by locking down a metropolitan interior picture that has come up big in the ongoing postseason run: he locked up Mitchell Robinson for the next four years and found depth in the form of Los Angeles breakout Isaiah Hartenstein, allowing him to ditch the Nerlens Noel/Taj Gibson platoon behind the starter. That was all before he scored Josh Hart from the Portland Trail Blazers, parting only with a late draft pick, two 12th men in Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk, and the long-exiled Cam Reddish. 

If one wants to argue that McNair and Altman's recognition was partly built on moves made in the past paying visible dividends (i.e. the Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis trade or stockpiling young talent like Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley), Rose made moves like that as well. Granted, Rose had to make up for several mistakes (the biggest win of draft night, for example, was ditching the $9 million attached to Kemba Walker) but several of his handpicked talents became vital contributors in the Knicks' rise.

The 2021 first-round pick Quentin Grimes, for example, began the year as a clock eater but spent November onward as a member of the Knicks' starting five before an injury afforded Hart a postseason opportunity. Obi Toppin has resembled the eighth overall pick the Knicks thought they were getting in 2020 when called upon to replace ailing All-Star Julius Randle. Fellow inaugural Rose draft class member Immanuel Quickley likewise came up big, going from trade deadline fodder to a vital member of the New York rotation.

Even the moves that Rose didn't make played in the Knicks' favor: the trade deadline, for example, was relatively muted from a New York perspective, as Rose and Co. fully focused on getting Hart over from the Pacific Northwest, eschewing the idea of tossing big capital away for marginal improvement of either the trade (O.G. Anunoby) or waiver wire (Patrick Beverley, Russell Westbrook) perspective. Granted, Brunson's breakout might've had something to do with that ... but who signed Brunson?

The fact that the controversy around Rose's snubbing is, again, relatively muted (though the passionate supporters that occupy Madison Square Garden's seats are likely fuming) is a sign of progress for the Knicks. Rose himself is perhaps pleased that those he gathered are more worried about the ongoing postseason series with the Miami Heat than his recognition in bringing them aboard.

Still, there's a slight hint of not admitting when one's wrong when it comes to the Rose situation by placing him eighth in such a ranking. Rose paid good money to purchase, prepare, and serve the crow he made to the basketball-loving public. The least voters could've done was take a taste. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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