Madison Square Garden on Tuesday hired David O’Connor, a longtime executive of the Creative Artists Agency, as its new president and chief executive.
Hiring O’Connor, who is known as Doc, is a reminder of how influential C.A.A. has been, at times, with the Knicks. It represents Carmelo Anthony. J. R. Smith, who was traded to Cleveland in January, is a client, as is Andrea Bargnani, who is an unrestricted free agent and is unlikely to return to the team after two desultory, injury-marred seasons.
The agency’s clients also include two Knicks executives, Allan Houston and Mark Warkentien.