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Mike Brown was the only coaching candidate to interview for the Knicks' job multiple times, including holding meetings with Rose, the team's front office and owner James Dolan on Tuesday, sources said. The Knicks also interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, New Orleans Pelicans associate coach James Borrego and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, sources said.
Mike Vorkunov: MSG Networks makes its debt restructuring deal official, via a SEC filing. It will reduce its annual media rights fee by 28% to Knicks and 18% to Rangers, and eliminate annual increase. MSGN also reduced rights fees to "certain other" teams. MSGN also broadcasts Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Gotham FC
The sale of the Lakers at a record $10 billion valuation has at least one activist investor wondering whether the Knicks could go for more. Boyar Value Group believes the Knicks are leaving billions of dollars in value on the table by being part of Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation, a publicly traded entity that also owns the Rangers. Boyar Value, a shareholder in MSG Sports, urged James Dolan in a Tuesday statement to consider splitting up the company or even selling the Knicks outright.
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The statement notes that while Forbes estimates the Knicks’ value at $7.5 billion and the Rangers’ value at $3.5 billion, MSG Sports trades at an enterprise value of $5 billion. As of Thursday morning, MSG Sports’s enterprise value was actually at more than $6 billion, perhaps due to a stock bump that can in part be attributed to enthusiasm about the teams’ value after the Lakers deal. “The Lakers sale highlights how cheap MSG Sports is relative to the value of its assets,” Jonathan Boyar, president of Boyar Value, tells Front Office Sports. “It’s a clear [comparison]. Both don’t own the arena, both are marquee assets with rich histories in major media markets.”
In an open letter published days before the press release, Boyar emphasized that a spin-off shouldn’t be unfamiliar to Dolan and the MSG Sports board, which includes six other Dolan family members. MSG Sports itself was created through a 2020 spin-off, and Sphere Entertainment—owner of the Las Vegas venue—was spun out from MSG Entertainment in 2023. Boyar says Dolan “has a fiduciary duty to shareholders and he should start acting that way,” although he admits he gives Dolan credit that “the right move thus far has been not to sell the team. Look how much it appreciated in value.”
Chris Mannix: We're going to get two expansion teams probably in the next three years. I think the NBA is going to step on the gas with the expansion now that the [Golden State] Warriors sold for $10 billion. Bill Simmons: You know who’s roadblocking them right now? James Dolan. Yeah, he's got a little cabal of anti-expansion owners that he's trying to rally—just because he doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want to share the media rights. Chris Mannix: James Dolan doesn’t want to share anything. He votes “no” at every single Board of Governors meeting. Go back and look at some of these meetings—how many of them are 29–1? He sends his consigliere in because he doesn’t really go to vote. Bill Simmons: I think he has a couple people this time, though. I think this expansion— Yeah, I think this expansion thing is a little—not enough—well, a little more complicated than people are giving it credit for.
Mike Woodson a 'wild card' for Knicks head coach job
The New York Knicks are striking out with all their current NBA head coach targets right now, so they may have to turn to a former one. Ex-Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is considered to be a “wild card” for the job, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reported Wednesday during an appearance on the “Knicks Film School” podcast. Begley says that the Knicks will likely “at least have a conversation” with Woodson and notes that Woodson has good relationships with Knicks owner James Dolan, president Leon Rose, and executive William Wesley.
James Dolan spearheaded Tom Thibodeau's dismissal
What was clear was Thibodeau’s firing being spearheaded by Knicks owner James Dolan, sources told Yahoo Sports. Dolan and team president Leon Rose held exit meetings with key Knicks players and the complaints were clear. Dolan, whom sources said was never a huge Thibodeau fan through the years, asked the questions in the meeting while Rose took a secondary role.
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Players were respectful of the veteran coach, who they have a great deal of respect and admiration for, but they also pointed out in those meetings that there were things Thibodeau did that could be improved.
The decision, ultimately, was Rose’s to make. Yes, owner James Dolan supported the decision to fire Thibodeau. I understand, based on past history, why Knicks fans would think Dolan was being heavy-handed here. He has a long history of getting overly involved in basketball decisions. For what it’s worth, I think he stopped forcing his executives to make decisions once Phil Jackson came aboard as team president. Dolan obviously cares about all moves made and holds his teams to a high standard. But he didn’t force Rose to make a decision that the team president wasn’t comfortable with. If Rose didn’t want to fire Thibodeau, he would have resigned alongside his head coach on Tuesday. He didn’t do that, which tells you that he wasn’t forced to do anything against his will here.
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