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Pressure? Mike Brown scoffed at the notion. Even if owner James Dolan said in January he felt the Knicks “absolutely” had to reach the NBA Finals and “should” win them, the first-year coach had that mindset all along after taking the job. “People have talked about a mandate — like I’m coaching to win,” Brown said Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter what others say. I’m disappointed if we’re not in the Finals and having a chance to win it.”
Mike Vorkunov: James Dolan asked about SG&A costs on the Sphere Co. earnings call and he admitted he couldn't help himself. "Boy, I'm really tempted to crack a joke here. So I guess I will. So SG&A is a great basketball player. And when we get to the finals, I'm sure we're going to beat them."
The noise surrounding the Knicks’ Mike Brown won’t die down unless they reach the NBA Finals, and even that might not be good enough for the first-year New York coach to be safe. Fair or not, those are the finals-or-bust parameters set by owner James Dolan when he gave that rare interview in which he said as much earlier this season . In the here and now, though, Brown and his staff making the necessary adjustments to respond in the Knicks’ 114-98 Game 4 win over Atlanta to tie the series is far better than the alternative.
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"People say a lot, but I know this: Dolan loves Towns," a league executive said. The Knicks did have a chance to extend Towns before the start of 2025-26 but opted to wait. Towns, according to sources, wanted a new deal but didn't expect one to come this season. With two years remaining on his contract -- $57.7 million in 2026-27 with a $61 million player option for 2027-28, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks -- Towns would be the franchise's biggest trade chip, salary-wise, if the Knicks chose to chase a superstar such as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As of now, there are only two open spots around the league — in Milwaukee and New Orleans — though one or two more coaches might be fired after unsuccessful playoff runs. Either way, a Warriors opening, to coach Curry and work for a free-spending owner like Lacob, would be quite attractive. The most obvious option would be much-loved Warriors former top assistant and interim coach Mike Brown, but he’d have to get fired by the Knicks for that to happen. Not an impossibility under owner James Dolan, but also not too likely.
Oakley wasn't aware, but according to another MSG security source there were discussions about tracking Oakley, even as he traveled hundreds of miles away. “They wanted to have us doing covert surveillance operations on him,” the source says, referring to Oakley, “just to see where he was at, what he was doing at the time, to try to dig up something to use.” As a series of court cases would later allege, the Garden security’s staff viewed the surveillance of perceived enemies as a normal part of doing business.
According to that lawsuit and our sources, Dolan’s head of corporate security takes such an expansive view of his mission that his employees will functionally cosplay as cops—patrolling the neighborhood, snooping on protesters if they happen to be in the area. You don't have to enter a Dolan venue to be under his watch.
Dolan bragged that his PR department kept dossiers on journalists; other reporting showed that their conversations were monitored by Dolan’s minions. Adrian Wojnarowski, then the dean of the NBA press corps, was tailed inside the Garden, says one source with direct knowledge of the matter. (Wojnarowski declined to comment.) Another prominent basketball reporter shared with WIRED their concerns about connecting their phone to MSG's Wi-Fi network; maybe the Garden's staff could access the data inside.
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The long arm of the law gets a big embrace. Thousands of New York’s Finest packed Madison Square Garden Saturday night for a free, star-studded concert honoring their service in a spirited push to boost morale across the force – an inaugural event set to become an annual tradition. The “Thank You, NYPD” concert – spearheaded by MSG Entertainment CEO and executive chairman James Dolan – welcomed over 15,000 police officers and civilian employees, along with their families, to be entertained by comedians, Grammy Award-winning legends, and blue-backing actors. “I’m absolutely excited,” Officer Andy Guo, of the 60th Precinct, told The Post ahead of the concert, noting he was most excited to see Cyndi Lauper perform. “I think [the concert] just highlights the importance of what my brothers and sisters do on a daily basis.” The event raised $500,000 for the New York City Police Foundation.
Thank-you clips from the public, along with messages from heavyweights such as Jerry Seinfeld and Darryl Strawberry, were also played during the event. As part of Dolan’s initiative, people were encouraged to thank police officers directly or submit a video featured at the concert. Dolan, who footed production and operating costs and offered The Garden rent-free, previously told The Post he wanted to stage the gratitude event to show Big Apple cops how much they’re valued amid rhetoric that often condemns the police. “We think that in your and my world, where there’s so much cynicism and negativity, that this was an opportunity to do something really positive for New York,” the New York Knicks owner said.
Madison Square Garden Sports’ board of directors approved a plan to explore spinning off its hockey and basketball clubs. The parent company of the New York Knicks and Rangers said Wednesday that they will consider splitting the two franchises into separate publicly traded companies. Under the proposed plan, the Knicks and their G League club, the Westchester Knicks, would become one company while the Rangers and their minor league team, the Hartford Wolf Pack, would become another. MSG Sports said that there is no timeline in mind to complete the move and that it is not guaranteed to happen. It requires approval from the NBA and NHL, as well as other considerations.
