Leon Rose’s in-season dealing has turned the New York Knicks into a legitimate threat and could warrant some award consideration come this spring.

Since taking over in 2020, New York Knicks president Leon Rose has been the face of the organization’s roster restructuring. The team hardly resembles the one he inherited but is likely on its soundest foundation since the turn of the century.

This year has seen Rose and his team make some of their biggest splashes yet, swapping homegrown talents like RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes, and Immanuel Quickley for Precious Achuiwa, OG Anunoby. and Bojan Bogdanovic. Rose also welcomed in former Golden State Warrior and current starter Donte DiVincenzo over the offseason.

All that and perhaps more led Bleacher Report to offer Rose some hypothetical in-season flowers, offering him the runner-up spot in the race for Executive of the Year Award.

“OG Anunoby is finally back after a long absence, and hopefully the rest of the injured Knicks won’t be far behind,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes writes.

“Even if we never see New York with the full complement of talent Rose put together over the summer (don’t forget Donte DiVincenzo, perhaps the best mid-level exception signing in the league) and at the deadline, he still deserves credit for remaking the team on the fly.”

Leave it to the Boston Celtics to overshadow the Knicks … president Brad Stevens got the current nod thanks to newcomers Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way to the NBA’s best record … but Rose has turned his group into a legitimate contender despite some injuries.

Though several newcomers are due to hit the market this summer, Rose has given a Knicks’ present and future a solid foundation: in making his deals, Rose has given the team flexibility to sign and trade for other assets this summer, as he was able to keep every first-rounder the team picked up over the past few offseasons and deadlines.