William Wesley’s long road to the Knicks

“Everybody wants to make the quick nickel; nobody wants to make the slow dime.”

By Henry Abbott

The Knicks are reportedly close to signing agent Leon Rose to run the team. He goes way back with plugged-in insider William Wesley; Knick fans hope that’ll give them a leg up in attracting big-name free agents to New York.

That last sentence embodies Knick fans’ biggest hopes going into 2020 free agency. 

It was also Knick fans’ biggest hopes going into 2010 free agency. 

Maybe it appears the Knicks made a hasty choice in hitching their wagon to Rose and Wesley, James Dolan’s latest shiny baubles. But there’s nothing new about any of this. This is not some old rich guy marrying the latest thing to walk through the door, after who-knows-how-many divorces. It’s more like that same retired guy returning to his high-school sweetheart. 

A decade ago when many teams—including the Bulls and Nets—assessed Wesley as a key adviser to LeBron James. In the run up, the Knicks found various ways to butter up Wesley.

At that time, Wesley was intently rehabilitating poor Eddy Curry, who ha…