Leon Rose adds former Pelicans scout Alex Kline to Knicks’ front office

The Knicks hired New Orleans pelican explorer Alex Kline, a senior team source told SNY.

Kline, 26, has been a scout with New Orleans for the past four seasons, with a focus on university scouting.

Athletic reported that Kline will work under Knicks GM assistant Walt Perrin, who will be responsible for college scouting.

Kline is highly respected by team staff from across the league.

He joins vice president of basketball strategy Brock Aller, Perrin and GM assistant Frank Zanin (professional scouting) as Rose front office workers. Rose also retained Scott Perry as general manager. Perry has a contract for the 2020-21 season.

Kline was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for sports when he was only 19 years old. He started to recruit as a teenager, created a successful network and followed, and gained a position with pelicans.

Kline’s remarkable background, detailed here by Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Adam Zagoria of Forbes, includes a charity game in honor of his late mother, Mary, which included Karl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell and many other current NBA players .

Articles show that Kline has strong relationships with coaches and players from a basic / high school level to a professional level, which can help the Knicks fully understand potential choices, free agents or commercial goals.

Rose still has decisions to make about other front office and scouting members who have been hired by former president Steve Mills and Perry. Earlier this month, he continued to perform due diligence on current staff while handling the club’s daily operations.

The opposing leaders had anticipated that there would be further changes to staff in the Knicks’ front office and scouting departments (something Aller was supposed to help evaluate).

One person who worked under previous regimes, Allan Houston, is still considered a strong candidate for staying with the club under Rose, as reported by the New York Daily News.

Houston has a strong relationship with Rose and his business partner William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, who is widely expected to have an advisory role with the club. Houston had traveled with the team more regularly since Rose was hired.