The proprietor has set the bar.
James Dolan, making the media rounds to defend his use of facial recognition know-how at his venues, gave an endorsement to workforce president Leon Rose however made clear there’s an expectation for the Knicks.
“We fully expect to make the playoffs this year,” Dolan advised WFAN in an interview Friday. “That will definitely be a benchmark.”
Dolan added accidents to Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson might alter that objective, however progress is important — even when a championship is unreasonable.
“It would require some players to make huge jumps in their skill levels and how they’re playing. And that’s probably unrealistic,” Dolan stated. “But also there’s trades. I always think we have a shot. I think we still have a shot now. I think our expectation should be that the team makes the playoffs.”
With Rose hiding from the media and coach Tom Thibodeau solely addressing aspirations in cliches, Dolan’s interview was the primary time anyone on the Knicks has acknowledged a tangible objective.
But it received’t be simple. The East is stacked with not less than 5 groups, possibly six, that may declare championship aspirations. The Knicks (27-23) are presently seventh within the Eastern Conference, which now not ensures a playoff spot. Heading into Friday’s video games, they had been simply 4 video games up on the Eleventh-place Bulls. They’re additionally simply three video games behind the fourth-place Nets, who the Knicks face Saturday in Brooklyn.
It’s price noting that Dolan has a coverage of solely elevating ticket costs year-to-year if the workforce makes the playoffs. The Knicks failed final season after rising to the 4th-seed in 2021, their first playoff look since 2013. The Knicks have made the playoffs simply 5 instances since 2002 and by no means superior previous the second spherical.
Dolan employed Rose in 2020 on a reported $8 million wage, making him one of many league’s highest-paid executives. As a longtime agent with no expertise working an NBA franchise, Rose was pitched as a conduit to acquiring stars by means of his connections.
The Knicks nonetheless don’t have a famous person and Rose’s 2021 free company was a catastrophe, however Brunson’s signing this summer time was a success.
“Yes. Absolutely [Rose has done a good job]. Why did I bring Leon on? I’ve been doing this now for 20-something years. In my experience with the NBA, there’s things you can do as an owner,” Dolan stated. “You can create an environment where you give them enough money to do their job. Give them more money than they need to do their job. You can stay out of the way, which is usually the best course of action. But you do end up picking the one guy who’s going to make all the strategy, who’s going to execute for you. And I picked Leon because I believe, after you look at the NBA and the game that we play, that the team with the best talent wins. Then you want a guy who gets you the best talent, and I believe that Leon Rose is still the best guy.”
A bit of Rose’s tenure might be outlined by not buying Donovan Mitchell in a commerce this summer time regardless of prolonged negotiations with the Utah Jazz. Dolan stated he didn’t intervene, though he may’ve 10 years in the past when he was more interfering.
“My attitude has changed,” Dolan stated. “Every new owner comes in thinking they’ve got the answer on how to make the team as successful. Not to disparage my fellow owners, there are franchises out there with owners over the last few years, you can look at new owners who have come in, who have thrown in a lot of money, etc. And they’re not doing as well as they thought. You really got to leave a lot of this strategy to the guys who have dedicated their lives and their careers to that.”
Dolan, for some motive, has resisted hiring skilled executives with confirmed success. His earlier workforce presidents, each disasters, Steve Mills and Phil Jackson, by no means ran a basketball operations division. He employed the skilled Donnie Walsh on the urging of then-commissioner David Stern, and fired him after three seasons.
Rose is the most recent neophyte rent and it appears he must make the playoffs to fulfill the proprietor.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com