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lex Kline’s NBA career began on his University Village apartment’s couch, eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, making phone calls and writing reports for the 2016 NBA Draft. Dealing with mononucleosis throughout his final college semester at Syracuse University, Kline served as a part-time consultant for the New Orleans Pelicans.
On winter break before the semester, Kline was texting Pelicans scout Yarone Arbel while vacationing with friends in Orlando. Because New Orleans was in town to play the Magic, Arbel set up a meeting with Kline to speak with general manager Dell Demps. It sparked a four-year run for Kline in the organization, where he was re-hired as a scout entering the 2016-17 season.
But, when a higher role with the New York Knicks was offered by a new front office — led by Team President Leon Rose — in 2020, he took the position and helped rebuild the organization. Despite thriving, Kline’s life changed when SU assistant coach Allen Griffin called him in the summer of 2023, hypothetically suggesting he should become Syracuse men’s basketball’s general manager.
Kline thought about the role “every second of every day” until he officially became SU’s GM on June 28, 2024.
“Maybe it’s ADHD,” Kline said, “I’m just always looking for, ‘What’s the next challenge? What’s the next opportunity?’”
Kline, 31, became a basketball wunderkind through his uncanny scouting ability, deep-rooted connections and innovative mindset. It’s led him back to Syracuse, where his newest challenge is constructing a winning roster as the program’s first GM. By embracing and helping transform college basketball’s new era, Kline is crucial in attempting to bring SU — which is on the verge of missing its fourth straight NCAA Tournament — back to the “Orange Standard.”
“The way he’s wired is to take on new challenges,” agent Daniel Poneman, who has known Kline since he was 14, said. “For him to not be able to take on new challenges, it’d be like telling LeBron James to stop taking jump shots.”
Before conquering the NBA, Kline transformed high school basketball. As a 14-year-old, he created The Recruit Scoop, a cutting-edge recruiting website and social media platform that landed him a partnership with Rivals.com. He also founded the Mary Kline Classic and Mary Kline Classic Sports & Business Symposium, raising nearly $200,000 for cancer research in honor of his late mother, Mary, who died when he was 10.
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With a pivotal third year approaching for head coach Adrian Autry, Kline’s experiences make him the perfect person to lead Syracuse’s front office and modernize the program.
“If you had 200 people apply for that job, there’s no doubt in my mind Alex is the most qualified to do it,” Adrian Wojnarowski, who retired from ESPN to become St. Bonaventure’s general manager in September 2024, said.
Four years before Duke hired Rachel Baker as college basketball’s first GM in 2022, Kline conversed with now-Harvard Director of Basketball Operations Tripp Doherty about why the role was needed, viewing college basketball as similar to a corporation.
NBA coaches specialize in their strengths and leave other areas to the front office, a luxury college coaches previously didn’t have. The transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness’ emergence forced college basketball front-office roles into fruition.
Now, there are over 25 general managers in Division I basketball. Unlike the NBA, not all college basketball GMs — or similar Chief Program Strategist or Director of Basketball Operations positions — follow the same structure. This allows the job to be centered around the strengths of whoever holds the position. For Kline, that’s in scouting and talent evaluation.
“Who better to give a very intelligent opinion than someone that’s been on that side in the draft room for two successful organizations?” Doherty said of Kline.
While playing a role in personnel decisions with the Pelicans and Knicks was the norm for Kline, he didn’t have any input upon arriving at Syracuse — its 2024-25 roster was already built. Kline’s first season as a GM has entailed doing behind-the-scenes research, making scouting trips and sitting in the second row of SU’s bench to scout during games.
He’ll have his first chance to start crafting his roster when the portal opens after the season. Though Kline is SU’s only full-time front office staffer, it hired 21-year-old Eugene Tulyagijja as a Data Analyst to be a hybrid coach and front office member.
Eugene Tulyagijja (left) and Alex Kline (right) are at the forefront of trying to modernize Syracuse’s program. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
To pair with Kline’s scouting prowess, Tulyagijja and Kline worked together to build an algorithm to help identify and quantify talent. The algorithm is built around Kline’s scouting experience and Tulyagijja’s prior work with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ analytics department — modeling it around what worked at the NBA level.
This offseason will be the first time SU has fully used the algorithm, but Tulyagijja said it’s how the Orange found Luke Fennell and Aaron Womack in the high school circuit. Heading into last year’s portal season, Tulyagijja revealed Syracuse dove into each player’s analytics but didn’t use a specific algorithm.
“With Alex here now, I think the model hopefully is more efficient this time around,” Tulyagijja said. “Understanding that having all the money in the world, if you can’t talent evaluate, it’s not going to do you anything.”
In college basketball’s unregulated marketplace, at least until revenue sharing potentially becomes legalized, Kline feels many of the negotiated deals are “make-believe.” But he feels Syracuse “absolutely” has the budget to be competitive NIL-wise.
Still, Kline says his inspiration is the Moneyball Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays, acknowledging Southeastern Conference and Big Ten programs have “insane bank accounts.” So, SU must be sharper and more strategic to maximize its resources at a crucial moment to add talent alongside the program’s highest-rated incoming recruiting class since 2015.
“I think every move we make is paramount,” Kline said. “Every move we make should have a huge impact. There should be meaning behind it. There should be reasoning behind it.”
An essential part of succeeding, in Kline’s mind, is being aligned with Autry. He can make as many recommendations to the head coach as he wants, but if a player doesn’t fit Autry’s system, the addition won’t work. Kline credits his time working with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau as what will help him work with Autry.
Alex Kline worked as a scout with the New York Knicks from 2020-24 before becoming Syracuse’s general manager. Photo courtesy of Alex Kline
Across Kline’s four-year stint, the Knicks went from the Eastern Conference’s gutter to one of its premiere teams by understanding the archetypes that best fit Thibodeau’s system.
“Alex has brought us a wealth of experience and knowledge in the basketball profession,” Autry said.
Throughout the season, Kline has been in consistent contact with Autry and Syracuse’s coaching staff, updating them on his intel and bouncing ideas off them to see if there’s synergy between everyone. When the portal opens, Kline and Autry will negotiate with players and agents.
Kline’s relationships across all landscapes of basketball are primed to help Syracuse garner top talent.
“It’s huge,” Daniel Marks, Howard’s Chief Program Strategist since 2022, said of Kline’s connections. “He’s known high school and AAU coaches for almost 15 years now at a really high level.”
Between agents, executives, coaches and players, Kline building a vast network is how he broke into the NBA. Getting in touch with Arbel stemmed from Kline attending a Reebok event in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 2015.
There, he met Scott Robinson, an AAU coach who was coaching future first-round pick Skal Labissière. When Robinson asked Kline, then a senior at SU, what his goals were, he said work in the NBA. So, Robinson connected him to Dan Connelly — then an independent trainer and the younger brother of heralded NBA executive Tim Connelly. Dan then connected him with Arbel, who referred him to Demps.
Following a 30-minute meeting with Demps, Kline finally had clarity on what his future could be. Kline always aimed to work in basketball, though he wasn’t sure what that would entail.
Alex Kline’s first job out of college was serving as a scout for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2016-20. Photo courtesy of Alex Kline
“There was always that question in the back of your mind,” Kline said. “More so my father than myself of like, ‘What are you actually going to do with this, and how are you going to make money? And how are you going to turn it into something?’”
He loved basketball for what it was, never worrying about where it could take him. From an early age, sports helped “save his life” while his mother battled cancer. In high school, basketball returned the favor to Kline. It gave him purpose, confidence and friendships.
As an eighth grader, Kline approached his math teacher, Bernie Gurick, who served as Pennington High School’s (New Jersey) varsity coach for 30 years. He told Gurick he liked statistics and understood the game, wanting to join the program.
It resulted in Kline becoming a manager in ninth grade. Initially, he was a water boy and did the team’s laundry. However, he quickly became “unlike any student” Gurick had ever worked with. Between helping the players on the court during practice and gathering intel on opponents analytically and on film, Gurick lauded Kline’s impact on Pennington.
“He was beyond his years,” Gurick said. “He just was a go-getter. And if he put his mind to something, he was going to do it.”
Around the same time he became a manager, Kline and a friend created Box of M.E.S.S. — a “music,” “entertainment,” “sports” and “stuff” website. Quickly, Kline found a way to mix in basketball, interviewing top basketball recruits, including Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Harrison Barnes.
Kline went all in on basketball toward the end of his sophomore year, transforming Box of M.E.S.S. into The Recruit Scoop. As his reputation grew, so did his talent evaluation skills.
“Who better than Alex to get information and to evaluate players? He has a unique style to evaluate,” Paul Biancardi, ESPN’s National Director of Recruiting, said.
Once he became a manager for Pennington, Kline bonded with players and questioned their packed weekend schedules. When they claimed AAU basketball kept them busy, he thought it was “total bullsh*t.”
The players encouraged Kline to travel with them across the country to tournaments. So, Kline accepted, often crammed in the back of a van on a suitcase without a seatbelt. In hotels, Kline “did whatever it took,” often sleeping on chairs and floors.
“What it was I was looking for, I have no idea,” Kline said of his aspirations at the time.
Kline’s notoriety and credibility rapidly began increasing the more he traveled. College coaches came to him for intel. Meanwhile, Kline greatly appealed to players, often being trusted to break news or give them feedback on how to improve their games. The Recruit Scoop turned into essentially a precursor to what On3 and Joe Tipton do, except through scouting.
“Just picking his brain and seeing that, ‘OK, no, he’s not just a fanatic.’ I mean, he’s a fanatic, but he knows what he’s talking about,” Chase Plummer, Irving’s teammate at St. Patrick High School (New Jersey), said of Kline’s trustworthiness. “He knows exactly what he’s talking about and what needs to be done.”
“I respected his basketball opinion, and I still do, nothing’s changed to that point,” Tyler Roberson, a former SU player from 2013-17 who knew Kline before his college career, added.
As Kline grew in notoriety, he wanted to give back. So, he created the Mary Kline Classic, a high school basketball showcase similar to the McDonald’s All-American game. From 2011-16, players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Michael Porter Jr., Donovan Mitchell and Mikal Bridges participated.
Alex Kline (left) poses with Derrick Jones Jr. (right) after he won the 2015 Mary Kline Classic Slam Dunk Contest. Photo courtesy of Alex Kline
Despite Kline’s high school success, he wasn’t getting basketball scholarships like many players he’d covered. He needed to figure out how to make a career for himself. In the back of his mind, he knew he wanted to go to SU because of its prestigious basketball program.
After getting into the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications via early decision, Kline thought he’d become the next Jay Bilas upon arriving on campus in the fall of 2012. However, his media aspirations were quickly thrown in the gutter.
As a freshman, Kline was credentialed to cover one of Syracuse men’s basketball’s exhibition games for Orangefizz.net. But because he ran a recruiting website, the program banned him from covering games, Kline said.
Kline admitted this made him bitter, so he started getting tickets from opposing teams, SU coaches and players to watch the games for fun. That’s when he realized he was a big fish in a small pond.
After speaking with scouts during games, Kline saw an opportunity to turn his intel into written reports. Throughout his final two years of college, Kline sent out reports and did different projects for teams before landing his consulting role with the Pelicans.
When Kline’s temporary contract with New Orleans expired following the 2016 Draft, he wasn’t initially offered a contract to return. Once again, he found himself needing to leverage his experiences and carve out the next step in his career.
“I graduate Syracuse, people get jobs, and I’m just like, ‘Fu*k, what am I doing?’” Kline said.
So, during NBA Summer League play, he traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, and slept on a friend’s couch to get his face back in front of Demps. Despite cornering him at a casino slot machine, Kline didn’t get an offer.
A few months later, after the Pelicans conducted an internal study on which scouts gathered the most intel — finding Kline had accumulated more than anyone else — he was offered a full-time position as a scout.
“It’s an incredibly competitive industry, and he just found a way to separate himself,” Wojnarowski said.
Before joining the Knicks, Kline was responsible for gathering intel on the trade deadline, free agency and draft, learning every detail about players. However, his basketball insights weren’t sought after.
Then, the opportunity with New York presented itself. There, executives began asking for his opinion. Kline became one of the voices when an opinion on the Knicks was needed — a position he craved dating back to his Pennington days.
“There were a lot of moves where I was consulted on it when maybe someone at my age or position probably shouldn’t have been consulted on it,” Kline said.
Despite helping build a contender with the Knicks, Kline needed a new challenge. Work began feeling repetitive. Outside of the playoffs, wins and losses didn’t affect him.
So, after the conversation with Griffin, which initially began with the assistant coach praising the then-senior in high school Elijah Moore’s work ethic, Kline began seriously pursuing Syracuse’s GM role. In mid-October 2023, he visited SU and instantly aligned with Autry. The day after the 2024 Draft, he officially retired from a budding NBA career.
“In the NBA, there’s a million voices,” Kline said. “In college basketball, there’s probably 20 voices. Syracuse basketball? It’s even smaller.”
The GM position offers Kline the perfect blend of everything he’s sought. He can be around the team frequently, which he hasn’t done since high school. His opinion is valued. He’s helping lead a program through a new era. And he’s innovating ways to get the Orange back to college basketball’s upper echelon.
Despite becoming a basketball wunderkind, Kline never knew what he wanted to achieve in basketball and consistently sought new challenges. Now, he’s in a “dream job.”
And he’s tasked with one thing: building Syracuse a winning roster.
Photograph Illustration by Lucía Santoro-Vélez | Presentation Director
Published on February 13, 2025 at 12:08 am
Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon
