Knicks Owner James Dolan yesterday was "flanked on his courtside seat" by several former Knicks players for the team's game against the Spurs including Latrell Sprewell, who "famously feuded with Dolan after he was traded" to the T-Wolves in '03, according to Stefan Bondy of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The Knicks even "played a video tribute to Sprewell on the Jumbotron." The timing of the move was "probably not coincidental," as it came two days after Dolan banned former Knick Charles Oakley indefinitely from MSG over last week's incident (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/13). In N.Y., Marc Berman writes by sitting next to former players, Dolan used the "P.R. stunt" to show his "strong relationships with Knicks alumni." Dolan during his appearance on "The Michael Kay Show" on Friday said he has a "a great relationship" with Knicks alumni and called the Oakley feud "an anomaly." The Knicks PR staff has "tried for a while to get Sprewell to come back to the Garden, but he apparently felt funny because of bad vibes from Dolan." An extra effort was "put in this weekend after the Oakley ban had led to questions about how the organization deals with its alumni" (N.Y. POST, 2/13). ESPN.com's Ian Begley noted the timing of Sprewell's appearance "coming so close to the Oakley incident appeared not to be coincidental." Nine former players in all were at yesterday's game, and a team official "acknowledged that the ex-players attended to show that the organization supports its former players in the wake of the Oakley incident" (ESPN.com, 2/12).
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: ESPN's Bomani Jones said Dolan got Sprewell to sit next to him "to make it look like he's got the affection of the former Knicks." ESPN's Doris Burke said, "It feels heavy-handed to me. ... It certainly felt wrong in terms of its timing" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 2/13). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, "I don't know if Larry Johnson and Latrell Sprewell realize they came across, in terms of imagery, like they look like they were bought off" ("First Take," ESPN, 2/13). ESPN's Mike Greenberg tweeted, "What an extraordinary coincidence that Jim Dolan and Latrell Sprewell buried the hatchet this week, of all weeks, after 13 years" (TWITTER.com, 2/12). In New Jersey, Steve Popper writes all that was "missing was for the former players" to be "covered in flashing neon lights beckoning the crowd to look here, and ignore everything else your mind is telling you." Dolan and his PR crew "filled the seats with former Knicks to act as human shields," a "transparent effort to prove Dolan can play nice with former Knicks" (Bergen RECORD, 2/13). In N.Y., Frank Isola writes the move was a PR ploy to "portray Dolan as the warm cuddly owner." Sprewell is the "last person on earth you would have expected to agree to be part of something like this." But it "confirmed that Dolan is committed to winning this -- whatever this is -- at all costs" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/13).
NOT GIVING AN INCH: ESPN's Marc Stein said, "This is the proverbial no-win situation for James Dolan, and yet he’s continuing to try to fight this battle. You’re not going to win a battle in the court of public opinion with Charles Oakley. So the Knicks look bad, but it ain't exactly first time that’s happened.” ESPN's Jones: "He’s going to ride this out all the way to the end. I feel like the only positive for Dolan is by having this clown show this weekend, you ignore the fact that he basically intimated that Charles Oakley was an alcoholic with no proof” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 2/13). ESPN's Jalen Rose called Dolan's move a "devious tact" and noted he "traded 10 years of Charles Oakley's service for five years of Latrell Sprewell's service." Rose: "The art of war is what James Dolan is doing today. He's purchasing the conscience" ("Spurs-Knicks," ABC, 2/12). ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "I don't know if I can articulate the enormity of the public relations disaster that the Knicks are perpetuating" ("The Jump," ESPN2, 2/10).
DEFINITELY INDEFINITE: THE VERTICAL's Chris Mannix wrote Dolan during his radio appearance Friday "proceeded to embarrass himself" during the half-hour long interview. Dolan was "armed with a binder marked 'Preparation' and without an ounce of self-awareness." He "largely strained credulity" and "shredded any goodwill that lingered" during his appearance. He "sniffed at the suggestion that he was hated," saying that "people would be 'hard-pressed' to find a well-liked living" N.Y. team owner. Mannix wrote no one "inside the MSG walls could have advised him to give that interview, because no one could be that stupid." Mannix: "Doubling down on the war with Oakley is so much more damaging than defusing it" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/10). Dolan during the interview said Oakley "may have a problem with alcohol, we don't know." SI.com's Ben Golliver wrote Dolan "unsurprisingly chose to humiliate and demean Oakley before announcing that he was banning him." Dolan’s decisions and statements are "pathetic, abhorrent and evidence of poor leadership" (SI.com, 2/11). ESPN's Michelle Beadle said, "If you're a New York Knicks fan, the 30 minutes (Friday) that this man was talking has to be ever more angering than what you felt Wednesday night" ("NBA Countdown," ESPN, 2/10). In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote the "truly amazing thing" about Dolan's interview is that this was the "product of Dolan being prepped by his handlers and ... coming with notes!" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/12). ESPN's Michael Smith: "How do you walk in there with a binder labeled ‘Preparation’ and do that? That was a disgusting, despicable, deplorable example of somebody trying to explain his side of the story, and yet character assassinating a beloved former player named Charles Oakley. This was inexcusable and incomprehensible. He should be ashamed of himself, except he has no shame" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/10).
FOOT IN THE GROUND: In N.Y., Michael Powell noted before his appearance, there had been "speculation" that Dolan "might announce a reconciliation with Oakley." He instead "opened by announcing that he was barring Oakley indefinitely" from MSG. Then he "suggested over and over that Oakley was an alcoholic and emotionally troubled" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/11). Also in N.Y., Scott Cacciola in a front-page piece wrote it is "hard to find precedent for the Knicks' decision" to ban Oakley, though it "fit the almost bizarre image the franchise now seems to be busy creating for itself." Dolan added that he was "taking the step to bar Oakley out of concern for the safety of the team’s other paying customers" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/11). In Toronto, Doug Smith noted Dolan's treatment of Oakley "transcends basketball and gets to the evilness and pettiness that’s pervasive in an organization known to spy on unfriendly reporters and dole out favours to those [who] toe the party line" (TORONTO STAR, 2/12).
WORD SPREADS: On Long Island, Iannazzone wrote the Knicks are "losing on the court, off the court and in the court of public opinion -- and all of it could impact their ability to get quality free agents." Knicks F Carmelo Anthony said, "That should always be in the back of people’s minds." Iannazzone noted the Knicks "should be concerned about the lasting effect this season could have on their long-term future." It also "doesn’t sound as if this management team is going anywhere." Dolan said he will honor Knicks President Phil Jackson's five-year deal, "so he's not going anywhere unless he decides to opt out after this season." Asked if he is concerned that Jackson’s handling of Anthony will hurt the team's chances of signing free agents, Dolan said that he is "staying out of it and letting Jackson run the basketball department" (NEWSDAY, 2/12). In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan wrote, "Why would any player with an alternative choose to play with the Knicks at this point?" It has been "years since a significant free agent went" to the Knicks. The team is a "circus, a soap opera, a poorly constructed team going nowhere." Dolan and Jackson are "dumb and petty enough to make the dysfunction worse" (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/12). FS1's Nick Wright said, "The disease is the Knicks have a man running the franchise who has no interest in doing the job the right way" ("Undisputed," FS1, 2/13).
