Just when you think the Knicks have hit rock bottom, they find a new way to dig themselves a little bit lower. The latest track off the "Jim Dolan's Greatest Hits" album was his argument with Spike Lee the other day, which prompted the Oscar-winning director to announce he's boycotting Madison Square Garden for the rest of the season. Spike Lee. The most famous Knicks fan there is. Who's been a season ticket holder for 30 years despite the team's ineptitude. Not the best look.
But, then again, this is the Knicks we're talking about, so them doing something like this shouldn't be too surprising. Because the next time this franchise does something right will be the first time in about 10 years. They do know how to make headlines. I'll give them that. But when every one of those headlines is about another scandal or another player that didn't pan out or another executive doing something stupid, you've gotta know there's a problem. And we all know who that problem is.
It's not hard to find the common thread linking all of those headlines. And it's been that way for years. Jim Dolan has been one of the worst owners in sports for a long time. He either just can't see it or simply doesn't care. My guess is the latter.
From what I know about Jim Dolan, he has an ego that's both very big and very fragile. And it seems to be the thing that drives his decision-making process most of the time. That's why he picks fights with Knicks legends (Charles Oakley) and celebrity fans (Spike Lee), among others. And alienates their non-famous fans on a pretty regular basis for having the gall to be critical of the team (and Dolan himself).
That's also why he keeps himself surrounded by Yes Men. He also doesn't seem to like to admit when he's wrong, which is how Phil Jackson remained the Knicks' President for so long even though that relationship clearly wasn't working and, worst of all, how Isiah Thomas managed to keep his job despite committing multiple fireable offenses.
Yet people are still stupid enough to pay ridiculous ticket prices to go watch a horrible team. Or, if they don't go to the games, they watch them on the TV network that Dolan also just happens to run. Which means he still makes plenty of money no matter how well the team does. And he takes full advantage of that fact. Which explains why he runs the Knicks the way he wants, to Hell with everyone else!
Donald Sterling made that tactic famous during his time as owner of the Clippers. Sterling realized that the less money he spent, the more he made, so he really didn't care if the Clippers won or lost. And the Clippers lost more than they won, which, again, didn't matter to him at all. If Sterling hadn't been banned by Commissioner Adam Silver in 2014 (for a different reason entirely), the Clippers would likely still be the NBA's biggest laughingstock. Instead, that "honor" belongs to Jim Dolan's New York Knicks.
The Knicks were one of the best teams in the NBA until Dolan showed up. They made the playoffs 14 straight times from 1987-88 to 2000-01, reaching the Finals in 1994 and 1999. Their rivalries with the Bulls, Heat and Pacers in the 90s were legendary and the Garden was rocking in support of the home team during those days!
Dolan was the Knicks' part owner during those glory days. He's been the majority owner since 1997, it's not hard to put two and two together and see when the decline started. In the 19 seasons since the playoff streak ended, they've only reached the postseason four times (three of which were consecutive). Instead, 50- and even 60-loss seasons have become the norm. Regardless of who the head coach is and the players are, the team can't win. It's not hard to see who's responsible for that.
His ineptitude isn't limited to the Knicks, either. Dolan also owns the New York Rangers, and he used to be involved in their day-to-day operations, as well. And the Rangers were just as bad as the Knicks in the early 2000s. Dolan eventually took a step back from the Rangers, letting competent people who actually know how to run a hockey team take over. Once that happened, the Rangers went from laughingstock to competitive to one of the best teams in the NHL, winning the President's Trophy in 2011-12 and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2013-14. And the fact that they took a step back and started a rebuild over the past several seasons has nothing to do with Dolan.
I can't be the only person who has a feeling that the same thing would happen to the Knicks if Dolan ever gave up control. Except that seems unlikely to happen. Because the Knicks are his baby. It feeds his ego to be the big, powerful boss man for an NBA team, even he's woefully underqualified for the role and his active day-to-day presence is the biggest thing holding the franchise back.
While the NBA can't take an official position for obvious reasons, it's not exactly a secret what their feelings on the Knicks situation are. They can't be happy about one of the league's marquee teams constantly tripping over itself and getting in its own way. They'd love for the Knicks to be relevant and having big, nationally-televised games at Madison Square Garden, which is really the only thing the Knicks have going for them at the moment.
What can be done about it, though? The NBA made Donald Sterling sell the Clippers, and Steve Ballmer has been a great owner for them. Can they do the same thing with Dolan? He has a history of poor management with so many missteps along the way that they'd be justified in taking a stand of some sort. Although, you can bet Dolan would mount a legal challenge if they ever tried to take his beloved Knicks away from him. Therein lies the problem. The league would love to do something, but their hands are pretty much tied.
So, it really lies on Dolan. He really has three choices: 1. maintaining the status quo; 2. remaining the owner, but removing himself from the day-to-day operations; 3. selling the team. We know No. 3 ain't happening unless he's forced to. I think most fans would accept No. 2, especially if it meant the Knicks would stop being a joke and actually become relevant again.
Knowing Jim Dolan, though, he'll choose No. 1. Because he doesn't care about Knicks fans. He just wants to keep showing everyone who's boss. I do think he genuinely loves the team and wants desperately to see it win. But ultimately, that would only serve to stroke his ego even more. Since you know he'd be in everyone's face about it. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, that day seems a long way off. Because, while Dolan might be their biggest problem, he's far from the only one.
Not that any of this seems to matter, though. There's still 15,000 people in the Garden every night. Which means Dolan still makes money. So, if you really want to send him a message, don't show up with signs and chant "Fire Dolan." Do the opposite. Don't show up at all. Because once it starts to hit him in the wallet, Jim Dolan may actually start listening.
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