The team recently named former Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien as a special consultant to the franchise. This is important because 1) Carmelo loved the guy when he worked in Denver and gave him tons of credit for assembling the team that made it to the West finals and 2) because Warkentien has long considered Knicks president Donnie Walsh a mentor and would jump at the chance to be the next GM of the Knicks, if only to work side-by-side with him. From the New York Post:
Former Nuggets general manager Mark Warkentien, who had a strong relationship with Carmelo Anthony and has long rumored to be headed to the Knicks, has been hired as a top consultant.
Yahoo! first reported the move last night, but the Knicks have yet to announce it. Knicks president Donnie Walsh would not deny an announcement is forthcoming but said only, “I have nothing to report at this time.”
That Warkentien’s name has surfaced with Anthony in Newark tonight is interesting. Warkentien recently left his agent, Steve Kaufmann, to join William Wesley and the ever-powerful CAA. Wesley is the longtime associate of Leon Rose, Anthony’s agent. Wesley has emerged as a key player in Anthony’s future destination.
Anthony, who played in Philadelphia last night, praised the hiring of Warkentien.
“Did they?” Anthony said upon hearing the news. “[Is that] surprising? Yeah. As far as I am concerned, I guess that’s a great addition to that organization.”
You gotta love that last throw-in that Warkentien recently left his agent for William Wesley (aka Worldwide Wes) and CAA. For those who don’t know, CAA is also the agency of Carmelo and the other cast of league stars (LeBron, Bosh, D-Wade, etc) who have long been rumored to be attempting an NBA takeover with the creation of the NBA “super teams.” It’s a great move by the agency and especially the Knicks to land Carmelo in New York.
Sucks for Nuggets fans.
[New York Post]