New York Knicks Owner James Dolan ‘Angry’ With Team’s Persistent Struggles
USA Today
After hiring NBA legend Phil Jackson to help right the ship, the New York Knicks were thought to be finally headed in the right direction. The storied NBA franchise had brought in one of the most successful minds in league history with hopes of turning New York back into an Eastern Conference heavyweight on an annual basis.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well Knicks over the past few years. Although the team was able to re-sign superstar Carmelo Anthony to a long-term deal and land a star in the making in Kristaps Porzingis in the 2015 NBA Draft, New York has gone from a playoff contender earlier in the season to being on pace to miss the postseason yet again.
According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, the team’s persistent struggles may be starting to get to owner James Dolan:
The MSG chairman, according to a source, was visibly agitated following the Knicks’ lackluster performance in a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
It is unclear if Dolan addressed team president Phil Jackson, just as he did one week before Derek Fisher was fired. But Dolan is said to be just as angry as Anthony with the direction of the Knicks, who are 24-34 entering Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.
At one point during this season, the Knicks appeared to have turned the corner with Porzingis quickly becoming one of the NBA’s unexpected rising stars. Although Porzingis was a steal for the Knicks in the draft, the team has fallen off as of late, and former head coach Derek Fisher was recently the fall guy for the team’s struggles.
The Knicks have lost nine of their last 10 games with the frustration mounting in New York. Anthony also expressed his frustration with the team recently with the aging star hoping the Knicks can get back on track sooner rather than later.
Only the Brooklyn Nets (5000/1) have worse odds to come out of the Eastern Conference this season. New York is currently sporting 500/1 odds (via Sportsbook.ag) to advance to the NBA Finals which is obviously something that won’t be happening this year.
If things don’t change quickly in New York over the next few months, Anthony may try to force himself out of town. Anthony signed a five-year deal with the team back in the summer of 2014 after testing the market in NBA free agency. Anthony has a no-trade clause to go along with his contract worth $124 million and can essentially dictate where he wants to go making things difficult for the Knicks if he wants out.
