The Post’s Steve Serby spoke with Knicks owner James Dolan on Friday. They discussed myriad topics, including how much the Knicks mean to the city, how this team was built and if he’s allowed himself yet to dream of the Canyon of Heroes.
Q: Do you feel that this team represents New York … New York City?
A: It represents the people of New York City, yes. Absolutely. That’s New Yorkers, right? They’re tough, they’re gritty, they’re full of personality. But they’re also high-character individuals. You have a good sense of right and wrong and what’s fair and what’s not, and if you cross it with ’em, you’re gonna get a New York hello. That’s New Yorkers, right? We’re not subtle, but we’re very straightforward. New Yorkers, they love effort. They don’t just love winners, they love effort … sincere effort. And if there’s nothing else you’re getting from the Knicks, you’re getting sincere effort. And so, I do think they represent New York.
Q: Your general thoughts about the Spurs and Thunder (the Spurs hadn’t yet beaten the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals).
A: I’m happy it’s going seven games. Because I think we’re gonna be ready. I’m very optimistic.
I think we’re going to win. Either team, I think we’re going to win.
So bring ’em on!
I’m excited for New York. The Knicks right now are providing something to New York that we don’t have, that we need: some optimism, some enthusiasm. Everybody, regardless of your political persuasion, everybody’s a Knicks fan, if you haven’t noticed.
Q: How would you sum up why you believe this team will win the championship?
A: Because they’re a team. Because they have heart, and they have that X factor in heart. And we’ve seen it all season long, but we’ve really seen it in the playoffs, and in talking to them, they’re gonna be almost impossible to beat. Because they have that heart, and you’re never gonna get them to quit. They will never quit. That’s how winners win.
Q: You sound like Joe Namath guaranteeing a Super Bowl.
A: I ain’t guaranteeing nuthin’ (laugh).
But I believe!
Q: What compelled you to issue your NBA Finals-or-Bust proclamation in January?
A: That’s why I don’t do a lot of interviews — I’m usually very frank (smile). I did not go into the interview thinking, “Oh I’m gonna say this.” But it was on my mind, and I knew that the rest of the organization knew it too — we all knew it. We knew it from the moment that we said goodbye to Thibs (Tom Thibodeau) and we hired Mike (Brown), that we were gonna be in a hot spot because we just made the conference finals. We didn’t win, but you don’t make a change unless you’re expecting to do better. We didn’t change ’cause we wanted it to be worse! To me, it was a little obvious, so I just said it because it was obvious.
Q: What convinced you that Mike Brown was the right man for this job?
A: Leon (Rose) convinced me (laugh). When we knew we were gonna make the change, we didn’t tell the players about making a change. We first had talked to all the players and I was there, and then sat down with Leon, and we talked about what it is we want in a coach. ’Cause we knew we had a good coach in Thibs. We weren’t just going for a change, right? There was something we wanted, and we laid it out, really on paper, what we were looking for in a coach. I would say the No. 1 quality was collaborative, that was a big piece … somebody who strategically could avail himself of all the minds around him and put it together, particularly at game time, between halves, that was a big thing. And we were looking for flexibility. So we laid out all these sort of characteristics that we were looking for, and then I set Leon loose. And he interviewed a lot of different guys, and he came back with Mike, and I’m like, “OK.” Leon did all the work. I just blessed it.
Q: Your thoughts on Wemby (Victor Wembanyama)?
A: He’s obviously a great player. They’re a young team. They certainly look to me like they’re gonna be in the picture for years to come. But then again, so do we.
Q: Do you allow yourself to dream about Jim Dolan on a Canyon of Heroes float?
A: I’d rather get through the first two games. If we are able to at least take one in one of the away games, then I think you can dream about that. But look, if we don’t win — I think we will — but if by some chance we don’t, we will be back next year. So, at some point or another, I hope to be going down the Canyon of Heroes, yes.
Q: What do you like best about the way the Knicks are playing?
A: Their willingness to sacrifice has been just off the charts. They’re all like this, whatever it takes to win, and don’t worry about me, I’ll do whatever it takes. That’s a sacrifice. We played some opponents who haven’t actually had that kind of a commitment. I’m not gonna name names, but you probably know who they are. I think that’s what sets this team apart, and it’s probably what I like most about them right now.
Q: What makes Jalen Brunson great?
A: (Laugh) Well, at first I would have said, and I don’t think you can say this anymore, is how underestimated he was. I don’t think people are underestimating him anymore. They were underestimating him to now they’re double-teaming him, now he’s moving the ball around, and how focused he is — don’t get too high, don’t get too low, that’s a big part of Jalen. He is probably the most focused Knick we have.
Q: Would you compare his leadership style to (Mark) Messier’s?
A: Mark was much more overt. A little more demonstrative in his leadership style. But very much, Mark led the team. And Jalen very much leads the team. Different styles, but same effect leadership-wise. Everybody keys off of Jalen, and that was the same thing true with Mark. Mark used to yell at everybody (laugh). Jalen does it in his own style too, much quieter. But still quite effective.
Q: Why was it important to trade for KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns)?
A: First off, we had Isaiah (Hartenstein) before KAT, and we lost Isaiah because the rules did not allow us to hang onto him. By the CBA etcetera, we were only allowed to offer him X amount of money. Other teams were allowed to offer him more. Probably should try and correct that in the next CBA with KAT. Our first preference would have been to keep going with Isaiah. So once we lost Isaiah, we knew we needed a big man, we needed a center, a focal point there. I knew KAT from before, I actually know him for about four or five years. I knew that he liked New York, he wanted to come. I was thrilled because to have an option like KAT was heaven-sent.
Q: Do you like the way he’s become a facilitator?
A: I love the way … he has grown so much in this last year. He’s very much a team player. He’s made personal sacrifices in order to make this work. He’s willing to listen, he’ll change. He’ll do most anything that the coach asked him to do.
Q: What convinced you that Leon Rose was the right man to bring your Knicks back?
A: I obviously have been doing this for a while before Leon showed up, and it was much more about just getting convinced that no matter if you get the most brilliant strategist in the world, you have to have talent in order to win. And so I thought about the guy who would be best in bringing talent to New York, and Leon’s name was at the very top of the list.
Q: What have you observed about him as an executive that is so impressive to you?
A: The way he deals with the whole organization is different. He almost has an agent’s mentality about it. He’s very collaborative. He’s very big on creating a feeling of family inside of the team. It starts with him and Wes (William Wesley) who do that. When he took the job, I think he thought long and hard about how he wanted to do it. I think this is how he wanted to do it.
Q: What have you learned about OG (Anunoby)?
A: Leon loved OG’s game. So when he came and I got to know OG and watched him play, I loved his game too. The thing about OG, he’s another guy who’ll do whatever you ask him to do. But the thing about him is that he still is significantly underestimated — he only made second-team defense. That was like ridiculous. I don’t think we know how good OG can be. We’ve seen flashes of things with him where he’s an incredible player. His game is not overly demonstrative, it’s not flashy, etcetera, but man, he can shut a guy down, but he can also hit the 3, he can drive the basket. … He doesn’t make a big deal out of it, doesn’t ask anybody to make a big deal out it. He’ll sit a little bit off to the side and be a part of the team and not say, “Hey, I can do this so I should do it.” That’s not him. When they assign him to guard somebody, that guy’s not gonna have his best game, that’s for sure.
Q: Does Josh Hart remind you of John Starks in any way?
A: (Laugh) Yeah … a lot personality-wise, I think so. Their effect on the team is really quite similar from those days. John would come into a game and light the team up just like Josh comes into the game and he lights the team up. He’ll come out of nowhere and get that rebound, and John was the same way, and for some reason it just energizes the rest of the team.
Q; How difficult was it for you to part with five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges?
A: It took a little thought (smile). Look, that’s the NBA. The idea was that Mikal was a building block for the team we wanted, which is the team we have on the floor now. We didn’t think we’d be in a lottery — we don’t expect to be in a lottery for quite some time. So, they weren’t quite as valuable … and Mikal is another player who I think we’re starting to understand just how impactful he could be. The thing about the whole team — I’m sure you see this — is you look at other teams in the NBA and there’s like one or two players who are the key players on the team, and when you see the other teams defend against those teams, they’re keying on them.
The problem with the Knicks is: Go ahead, pick one. Who are you gonna key on, right? Jalen? No problem … KAT’s right there. With the depth of the team, and the ability of any of those players to take over a game, and becomes a big problem for the opponent.
Q: When did you start handing out basketballs to fans after games?
A: I did it for a while before anybody figured it out. For years, I’ve come down after the game, sometimes we lose, sometimes we win, and I see the crowd out there, and I wanted to connect. So I decided, well, that was the best way to do it — just stop down there, and say hello for 30 seconds, give a kid a ball.
Q: Does it hearten you that Patrick Ewing has praised you for making the alumni feel a part of this run?
A: I’m sure glad they feel that way. It’s been intentional. This year, more than any other year, we’re all feeling a little like family. I’m really happy Patrick feels that ’cause he’s like our most important alumnus.
Q: Why do the Knicks mean so much to New York City?
A: They always have too. I’ve been a Knicks fan forever, right, going all the way back to the Frazier-Bradley-Reed Knicks. The town has always loved this basketball team. Part of it is definitely the franchise itself, that is the Knicks and it’s ingrained in the city a little like the Yankees. But the other part of I think is that these teams, like this team, when they have some personality, they’re very likeable. And when you meet them actually, they are likeable. It’s not a facade. And basically what you see is kinda who they are. And I think that really resonates with New Yorkers who like genuine people.
Q: What is Knicks Fever like when you walk around the city?
A: I don’t walk around the city (laugh), at least not so that I can be recognized. Much harder for my players. It’s everywhere. It’s incredible — it’s everywhere. You go to your dentist — they’re “Ah, Knicks!” Whenever I do go around the city and people know I’m there, they just are really excited.
Q: How heartbreaking was it losing Patrick after that magical ride in 1999 (to the Finals after making the playoff as an 8 seed)?
A: Losing is tough, even when it’s the championship in the Finals. Losing … losing sucks. And you don’t ever really get used to it, but you learn how to handle it. You can sense it coming when things are turning bad. You can also sense when things are going well. … That game against Cleveland, where we came back from 22 points, I was like, “They’ll have to play perfectly in order to do this.” And they did. I was amazed, and sorta felt like it was like an out-of-body experience (laugh).
Q: You lost in five to the Spurs in 1999.
A: I don’t try and remember the losses. There’s only one loss that sticks in my head, and I’ve never been able to shake it. It was against the Buffalo Sabres in the playoffs, and were up, I think, by two goals in the third period, and it slipped away. And of course you know who stole it from us was this young player on Buffalo named Chris Drury (laugh). I’ll never forget coming home from that game and just feeling so devastated.
Q: There was no Knick loss that left you devastated like that?
A: Not like that.
Q: When Larry Johnson hit that four-point play in the ’99 conference finals against the Pacers, was that the loudest you heard the Garden?
A: Actually, Game 2 of the Cleveland series was incredibly loud. That Cleveland game might be the loudest I’ve heard the Garden.
Q: What do you recall about the ’94 Knicks?
A: ITT was the managing partner of the team, so I was still pretty much on the sideline, rooting but not part of the organization.
Q: That team was tough.
A: I remember (Charles) Oakley and (Anthony) Mason, and yes, they were brutal, a little like Detroit was, very, very physical.
Q: Do you remember Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, the first Knicks championship, when Willis limped out of the tunnel?
A: My dad (Charles Dolan) at that time was running Manhattan Cable TV, and had gotten the games for the cable customers, and along with the rights we got four seats, in the press box. We used to go to all the games. I think it was Marty Glickman who was the guy who was calling the game (on Manhattan Cable Television). Marty Glickman used to come over to the house all the time. My brothers brought me, we used to drive in, we parked the car at Woodhaven, and take the D train in from Woodhaven.
Q: Who was your favorite Knick growing up?
A: Oh, Clyde.
Q: Did you play guard in the schoolyard?
A: Yeah … everybody loved Clyde. I also loved Dick Barnett. Dick Barnett had that shot that sorta originated from the back of his ear, it was a jump shot, but then he kicked his feet back when it was in the air. I used to go to those games with my brothers. That was an amazing team.
Q: What does this Knicks run mean to you personally?
A: I have not sat down with myself and gone over that yet because I’m afraid I’ll start crying (smile).
Q: What would your message be to the Knicks fans about these Finals, and this team?
A: They don’t need any encouragement, duh (laugh). I guess I’d tell them thank you … thank you for all the support over the years, and thank you for making this so special, and I hope we deliver for you.