LAS VEGAS — Last year, the Knicks sued another NBA team, questioned the commissioner’s objectivity and sent scathing letters to other owners about the direction of the league.
Given the opportunity to respond or elaborate on Tuesday, Adam Silver largely sidestepped the issue surrounding the Knicks and James Dolan.
“My response is that we are trying to resolve these issues within the family, and I will say that Jim Dolan has sent letters to our partner teams and the league office,” Silver said after the owners’ meeting in Las Vegas. “It was certainly discussed at the meeting, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to go into the details of what was discussed at the meeting.”
Silver was also asked about a New York court’s decision last month to send the Knicks’ lawsuit against the Raptors back to the commissioner for arbitration.
As part of the lawsuit, the Knicks alleged that Silver failed to resolve the dispute objectively, in part because he felt beholden to Raptors minority owner Larry Tannenbaum.
The second part of your question is [about the Knicks questioning my objectivity]”I’m not going to respond to that,” Silver said. “First and foremost, we have received notice of the court’s decision and we are currently working through those matters with the league office.”
Dolan launched a blistering attack on the NBA’s new media deal, and Silver in particular, against the backdrop of long-standing issues with the NBA’s revenue-sharing model.
In a letter from Dolan obtained by ESPN, the former Cablevision heir lays out his frustrations with revenue sharing and, while further complaining, forcefully concludes that “it is pride of ownership that is being sacrificed.”
We are becoming a uniform, monolithic organization. But let’s not forget that we did it because of owners like Jerry Buss.”
Dolan argued that the NBA’s new media rights deal will give most of the broadcasting of games to national networks, making regional sports networks “unviable.”
Dolan owns the MSG Network, which has not been immune to the dramatic decline in cable TV subscribers caused by the boom in streaming services.
On Tuesday, Silver reiterated the importance of streaming services as the league finalizes a blockbuster $76 billion media rights deal.
Dolan did not attend the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, instead sending MSG Sports COO Jamal Lesan to represent the Knicks.
In August, the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors, alleging that the team stole scouting information through its video coordinator.
It is unusual for one NBA team to sue another because of the business partnerships between the NBA teams and the NBA charter, but the Knicks sought more than $10 million in damages and argued that Silver had compromised too much to settle.
