There is no organization in the country NBA which works with less transparency on top than New York Knicks. Team president Leon Rose does not speak at press conferences or answer questions from outside media, and owner James Dolan has not given an interview in three years.
But that all changed Monday when Dolan joined his friend Craig Carton on New York's WFAN radio to launch “The Carton Show,” offering a rare opportunity to hear about the Knicks from their owner.
Several topics were discussed, including whether Rose had a long-term contract with the team – “As far as I know, Leon is with us for the long term” – and why Dolan refused to hang a banner with the Knicks' NBA Cup victory: “We want an NBA championship. We don't want a consolation prize.”
However, two topics emerged that were most interesting to Dolan's thoughts: the firing of Tom Thibodeau, the first coach to take the Knicks back to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, and the subsequent hiring of Mike Brown and rumors of trade talks to bring in the Milwaukee Bucks star. Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Dolan on Tom Thibodeau's firing
“The team is truly built on the shoulders of Tom Thibodeau. He's built this core, we've come just as far as we did last year, so you really have to take your hat off to Tom and the work he's done. But we came to the conclusion that we have an idea of how we want to organize the team, and it really applies to both teams.” [Knicks and Rangers]and that meant we had to go beyond the old traditional coaching formulas, etc. And we tried to work with Tom on that, and it really wasn't his thing…
“It's some of that [not using the bench, style of play]but it was much more about the leadership style. Cooperation versus kind [lone wolf] – yeah. Because of the way basketball is evolving, especially basketball, how much more complex it is, they're very focused on developing both clubs because you can't – it's not like the old days, the old Yankees, where you get Reggie Jackson and this guy and you put together a team. It's almost impossible to do that in the NBA. You have to develop some of your talents at home, and that also creates trade currency, etc. But it's a matter of development, and it's a team thing. These are literally 20 people who are specifically dedicated to developing players, increasing their skill level and developing strategy on the court.[to games]. And this is important for the development of the franchise. But Tom, he liked the development, but he wasn't very… [interrupted by Carton] …
“I'm not saying you can't win a title with Tom Thibodeau, I don't think that's true, but if you want to build a long-term, competitive, compete for… you need someone who is a more collaborative person than Tom. He came first. He brought discipline. He brought us strategy. He took us all down this path, but we really felt like we needed to change something to get us the rest of the way…
“We talked to Tom all the time, and look, I don't want to get too deep into that communication, but I would say that for the past year we've been talking to Tom about where we want to go, etc. He'd probably tell you that he's stubborn, but he'd also tell you that he's right.”
Dolan on whether the Knicks were close to trading Giannis Antetokounmpo
“Not that I'm aware of it. And I think… look, we love our team right now. They have chemistry, they all like each other. I've never seen a nicer locker room. There's a lot of energy. Leon can always overpower me, but I don't see us making big changes. We've got to keep building this group. This group can win a championship. I believe in that.”
“Look how far we came with our group last year. And then look at who played and who didn't play, and we had injuries. We're entering this season, the second half of the season – Josh [Hart] is still missing and Landry [Shamet] will be back soon – we have depth. And if we stay healthy, we'll go into the playoffs in much better shape than we did last year.”
Key Findings
Dolan may not always like the league's rules, but even he knows better than to risk breaking Antetokounmpo, so it's no surprise he's avoided the topic. However, he seems genuinely excited about this group, and I'm inclined to believe him when he says that there aren't any major moves planned for the mid-season and that they'll see what this group can do as it's built. This won't stop the Antetokounmpo trade rumors, but it should put them on the back burner for six months.
Thibodeau was the most anticipated part of Dolan's interview, and he came across as someone who was a little upset about parting ways with the coach who laid the foundation for this team's success. The word he kept returning to was “employee,” and while he tried to be careful with his words, it was clear that at some point there had been an internal split regarding how the team should operate to achieve sustained success, and Thibodeau was not interested in making the changes the front office wanted.
Dolan emphasized the importance of developing talent internally, both for on-court play and for creating more desirable trade assets, and it appears that some of the frustration among Knicks fans with Thibodeau's rigid rotation, which saw young players get minimal minutes, was shared by management. Dolan pointed to the Knicks' strength this year and said he hopes they enter the two-month NBA Finals battle more rested, and that starts with the reserves doing more to develop core players.
There wasn't much groundbreaking news in the interview, but Thibodeau's piece was interesting and he at least briefly quieted Antetokounmpo's rumblings. His position on the NBA Cup banner was perhaps the most controversial for Knicks fans, but that's not at all surprising.
