Steve Mills may add to his front office

One of several attributes that's made folks question the Steve Mills hiring is his background-- in several decades as a person working around basketball, he hasn't actually worked that much ON basketball. I cut my own concerns over Mills's background by remembering that even Glen Grunwald depended heavily on a front office that included former GMs like John Gabriel and Mark Warkentien, the ascending Allan Houston, and a deep staff of scouts and analysts. Everyone from Daddy Grun's staff but Daddy himself remains, and Mills made it clear yesterday that he, too, would depend on that cadre of basketball brainz:

Mills thinks his biggest contribution is to take care of biz & analytical side. Added he'll "lean on" scout dept. #NYK

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) September 30, 2013

There's also:

Mills doesn't have exact role in mind about Allan Houston's role but will have sitdown w/ him & scouts soon. #NYK

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) September 30, 2013

Meanwhile, Frank Isola has heard that Mills may seek to bolster his front office with an outside hire. Perhaps he wants someone to assume the "General Manager" part of his "Executive Vice President and General Manager" title-- something Donnie Walsh talked about for a while but never actually did. Regardless of title, it makes sense that Mills might want to add a right hand man (or woman!) of sorts. And before you freak out over a potential candidate for that position, note the radio interview Mills did yesterday:

Mills: "No, Isiah Thomas will not be coming back to the Knicks."

— Jamie O'Grady (@JamieOGrady_) September 30, 2013

(More here from Ian Begley.)

So, that's good. Whether or not the reasons for his hiring were sound, I like what I've heard from and about Mills regarding his relationship with the staff he inherited.