Clippers officials – including team president Lawrence Frank – attended an unusually high number of Raptors games during the 2018-19 season. Sure totally coincidentally, Toronto had L.A.'s top free-agent target: Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers plan worked, as they lured Leonard that next summer.
Knicks executive William Wesley (“World Wide Wes”) reportedly plans to acquire Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. New York also reportedly badly wants Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson
So, guess who was at Utah’s Game 1 win in Dallas yesterday? Wesley, Knicks executive Allan Houston and Knicks forward Julius Randle.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN:
Former Mav/Knick Dennis Smith Jr. is chatting with Dallas native Julius Randle and the Knicks execs at halftime. https://t.co/3K1ryw3Kr2 pic.twitter.com/U1GbyOMrTu
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 16, 2022
Marc Stein:
For your halftime entertainment: Julius Randle, Worldwide Wes and Allan Houston (slightly obscured in my usual bad photo) holding a Knicks staff meeting in Dallas.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 16, 2022
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cVpeGP https://t.co/exZ51cX72d pic.twitter.com/BsXmI95m0C
Brunson will be a free agent this summer. Mitchell is locked in three more years with the Jazz, but that won’t necessarily stop Wesley from recruiting.
Though Houston’s and Wesley’s agendas might not be as obvious as they appear, Randle’s attendance is especially confounding. A Dallas native, Randle wants to stay in New York, according to Knicks president Leon Rose. But Randle definitely appeared miserable in New York this season.