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.”
Warkentien has a longstanding relationship with the Kroenke family that owns the Nuggets but he was not retained in August. The Post reported on Aug. 4 Warkentien could be in line for a Knicks GM job and he had a preliminary interview with Walsh in the summer of 2009 for the vacated job that has never been filled. Warkentien could now be in line to be named general manager down the road.
The hire also shows Walsh is making important decisions, though the option on his contract has not been picked up yet for next season.
Warkentien told confidants two years ago one of his dreams was to work for Walsh and considered him a mentor. Supporters of a Warkentien hire thought it would be a good fit because of his reputation as pounding the pavement as far as scouting. Walsh has not traveled this season because he is rehabbing from hip-replacement surgery.
As for potential GM hires, assistant GM Allan Houston, Chris Mullin and, of course, Isiah Thomas could be possibilities.
Knicks reserve Bill Walker
, one of Shawne Williams’
closest friends but who had a well-documented altercation with Williams in a November scrimmage, said of Williams’ punch-throwing suspension, “At all times you want to protect yourself but you get penalized for protecting yourself. It’s a sticky situation.
“You can’t do that by any means. He had to pay the price for it. Hopefully he comes back from that and continues to play the kind of ball he’s been playing.” –Brian Lewis contributed to this report.