The New York Knicks replaced Glen Grunwald with Steve Mills, at least in part due to his perceived ability to attract and retain stars.

The Knicks could pursue a means to parting with the final part of Amar'e Stoudemire's contract to pursue LeBron James in free agency, though that is an unlikely outcome.

Mills also will need to convince Carmelo Anthony to re-sign with the Knicks if he opts out of his contract.

With the Brooklyn Nets gaining relevancy, the Knicks may have also concluded that a visible face of the front office is needed in Mills. Grunwald only spoke with reporters sparingly, keeping in line with James Dolan's media playbook.

Mills played college basketball at Princeton, but has never been a general manager.

Mark Warkentien and John Gabriel remain in the front office and are both former general managers. Allan Houston continues to gain a bigger front office role.