Appearing on Friday afternoon on WFAN Sports Radio in New York, Knicks owner James Dolan said he doesn’t intend to surrender control of the franchise anytime in the near — or distant — future, as Fred Katz of The Athletic relays.
“I have no plans whatsoever to sell at this point,” Dolan said. “I’m not retiring anytime soon. It’s a family-controlled asset, so someone in the family will eventually own it.”
There have been no recent reports indicating that Dolan was considering the possibility of selling the team, and he has said in the past that he has no intention of doing so.
Still, with NBA franchise valuations soaring, there has been some recent speculation that more owners could be looking to cash out. There has also been a segment of the Knicks fan base hoping for years that Dolan would take that route — it sounds like they shouldn’t get their hopes up.
Asked later in his WFAN appearance whether he likes the job president of basketball operations Leon Rose has done with the team since being hired nearly three years ago, Dolan gave Rose a positive review.
“Yes. Absolutely. … The team with the best talent wins,” Dolan said, via Katz. “So then you want a guy who can get you the best talent and I believe Leon Rose is still the best guy.”
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays, Dolan went on to say that the Knicks don’t have a specific timeline for contention that they’re holding Rose to, and are simply looking for “progress” at this point. He did add, however, that “we absolutely expect” to make the playoffs this season.
