The Knicks re-signed Mark Warkentien

I thought the Knicks didn't have an open roster spot, but I guess they cut someone, because they just made another signing. Via the Daily News:

Mark Warkentien [...] has re-signed with the club after nearly taking a similar position with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Daily News has learned.

I can't imagine Warkentien contributing much at 61 years old and about 5'9 with career averages of 0.0 points and 0.0 assists per game (0% eFG and 0% assist rate for the advanced stat folks), but even if he can't be a regular contributor, Marky Wark could be a third or fourth backcourt option and, at worst, a veteran voice in a locker room that could use that kind of presence.

[ahem]

Warkentien is the Knicks' Director of Player Personnel, first hired under the Donnie Walsh regime. As far as I can tell, he's been considered one of the strongest voices in the front office, one of the Knicks' sharpest salary cap guys, and a key force behind both the Carmelo Anthony trade and the CAA agency's incursion on organizational decisions.

When Phil Jackson took control of the Knicks, many of us (and reporters) assumed Warkentien and Steve Mills-- two guys most associated with the prior ugliness of the Knicks' decision-making-- would be promptly fired. But Mills has stayed on, apparently as the day-to-day face of the Knicks to Jackson's grander, more Zordon-like face. And yeah, whether or not Marky Wark was key to the more pernicious trends of the pre-Phil Knicks, Jackson values his expertise enough to retain him even when other teams came calling.

To my knowledge, that's been the case with the entire front office. Jackson negotiated a whole offseason with the incumbent staff and brought them all to Vegas, so I guess he's just taken over and made them his own. For now, anyway.

Welcome back, Marky Wark.