Steve Stoute was recently appointed by the New York Knicks as an ambassador who could change their public image and give them a bit of a rebrand. For a long time, Knicks owner James Dolan has looked bad in the media and Stoute is trying to make the Knicks cool again. Yesterday, the music mogul went on First Take where he made some interesting comments about the team's interim head coach, Mike Miller. In fact, Stoute implied that Miller would be fired and a new coach would come in next season.

In the aftermath of these comments, the Knicks issued a statement saying Stoute doesn't reflect the views of the front office. On First Take today, Stephen A. Smith addressed the controversy and defended Stoute. As Smith explains in the clip below, Stoute was brought on by the Knicks to change the perception that James Dolan was running all of the basketball operations. Smith thinks Stoute was successful at doing that but once Dolan got involved with a statement, he essentially undermined his new employee.

Steve Stoute was recently hired by the New York Knicks to help rebrand the franchise and make themselves cool again. Of course, Stoute is known for being a music executive although as someone who has been in New York and understands the culture, Stoute has the credentials to bring some new initiatives to the team. Considering it's the Knicks we're talking about here, Stoute's job isn't going to be easy. In fact, it's gotten off to a pretty rocky start thanks to his recent appearance on ESPN's First Take.

Throughout the interview, Stoute compared himself to Drake while also talking about how the Knicks are planning on getting a new coach. The head coach comments came as a bit of shock to people and in the aftermath of it all, the Knicks released a statement basically saying, Stoute doesn't represent the front office.

He's branded himself as an icon in hip hop, but steve Stoute has a new gig on the sports front. He's known as a record executive, artist manager, marketing agent, and author; yet now, you can add branding consultant to the New York Knicks to his ever-growing resumé. The 49-year-old businessman recently sat down for his first interview since taking on his latest title, and there was one comment he made mentioning Drake that made him the target of social media.

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Stoute is hoping to change how the Knicks are perceived from the public, and according to him, it starts at the top. “There had to be a change in [firing team president Steve Mills]. That change will bring a new coach and new coaches that are going to help develop these younger players,” Stoute told ESPN's First Take. “And they got some young players — you see RJ Barrett, Mitch Robinson. They got something to work with. And getting a coach in there and ultimately getting a coach and a coaching staff that’s going to help develop a team. That’s what I expect to happen so that we can actually get to what you expect from a New York team."

He added, "New York City is the hub of sports and entertainment. That’s how I feel. And it started moving around. My job is to bring it back. Toronto Raptors, they brought in Drake. Right? They brought in Drake to bring that thing. The New York Knicks brought in me." Stoute delivered a mouthful, but the Knicks quickly swept in with a statement saying that Stoute is not a mouthpiece for the franchise.

“While Steve Stoute is a valued contributor to the Knicks’ marketing and branding efforts, he does not speak on behalf of New York Knicks personnel and basketball operations," the statement reads. "Any decisions regarding the operations of the team will be made by the new President of the New York Knicks.”

Stoute returned with a sort-of-apology. “In my excitement to defend the Knicks on live TV today, I inadvertently insinuated about Knicks personnel. I look forward to working with Knicks management to elevate the great Knicks brand moving forward.” Check out Stoute's clip, and a few reactions to his Drake comparison, below.

Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman tend to impose their will when interviewing guests on ESPN's First Take. Both men are always looking for answers and their interview style matches up with the way they speak on hot button issues. Interestingly enough, Kellerman and Smith are both New York Knicks fans which has been a source of despair for the two. The Knicks have been terrible for a long time and it seems as though they talk about the franchise's incompetence, every single day.

On Tuesday's show, Smith and Kellerman welcomed music executive Steve Stoute on the show. Stoute has been brought in by the Knicks to help rebrand the team and make the franchise attractive to prospective free agents. Kellerman spared no punches as he grilled Stoute over what he plans to do with the team. Most of Kellerman's anger was geared towards owner James Dolan although it's clear Stoute wasn't expecting Kellerman to be so aggressive.

Kobe Bryant was a basketball legend, father, and husband but he wore many more titles. Among those was rapper. His career was short-lived with his debut album getting shelved by the label. As an MC, he worked with Brian McKnight and had Tyra Banks on his debut solo single. 

It was Steve Stoute that brought the NBA legend into the world of hip-hop. In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, Steve Stoute sat down to discuss his relationship with Kobe Bryant which inevitably led to the music executive sharing some anecdotes. Stoute explained that Kobe has always been a fan of hip-hop, mainly because it’s consistently been about fighting against the system.

Kobe was in New York City where he was training and Steve Stoute revealed that Kobe was hanging around some of the greats at that time, seemingly soaking in game about the rap industry.

“He stayed in New York. He spent a lot of time with Nas, with Foxy [Brown], like really trying to acclimate himself to what he was going to do as an artist. To learn,” he said. “That’s the thing that I got from him, is what when he decided to do something, he went so all in.”

Stoute spoke on an incident when he was with Kobe in New York City. After going into a club, Kobe and another man got into an altercation but Stoute went outside to deal with it.

“The guy calls me to go outside. Boom, he got his hand on the reach,” Stoute said. “Kobe comes outside. I’m like ‘Go back inside.’ He’s like, ‘I’m not going nowhere.’ That’s the type of guy he was.”

Following news of Kobe’s passing, Steve Stoute shared a heartfelt tribute where he shared other details on his relationship with Kobe including that Kobe stated at his house during the 1996 rookie season. Peep the full interview below.