New York Knicks: A look back at the beginning of the fall from grace

James Dolan inherits control of the New York Knicks

And so it begins.

Even though when I began this article I didn’t know very many details about the Knicks’ internal problems, I certainly had heard some things about James Dolan. I mean, who that follows the NBA hasn’t? So, it seemed to make sense to start my research with him. After all, the phrase, “It starts at the top” is not so commonly used for no reason.

Upon learning how Dolan came to have so much power within the Knicks’ organization it all became so clear. He didn’t purchase a basketball team because he had a passion for the game or even because it was something he believed could be a smart business investment. Rather, it was there for the taking and he took it simply because he could. No wonder he doesn’t seem to care about whether the team is successful or not.

After very little reading about him, I felt like I was starting to get an impression of the kind of person he is, at least publically. He strikes me as the type of person that is the reason there are stereotypes surrounding the children of the super-rich.

I also got the very strong impression that he has absolutely no notion that he owes Knicks fans anything even though without them, the Knicks could not be the cash cow that they are. As my research progressed, that impression was confirmed by the man himself in his own words.

That apparent lack of passion for basketball combined with the fact that he seems to want to be very involved in running everything that comes under the Madison Square Garden umbrella has been problematic for the Knicks, to say the least.

Dolan is kind of like an investment banker that decides to invest in a restaurant. He hires an executive chef to run the place but still insists on creating the menu and cooking all the food himself even though he’s in no way qualified to do so.

If you type “James Dolan” into a Google search and click on the News tab, the negative reports of Dolan’s actions overwhelm the results. From Bloomberg asking if Dolan is the worst owner in professional sports to his decision to legally oppose the Clippers’ plan to move to a new arena because of his investment in the Forum. Talk about a conflict of interests.

He even went so far as to back a mayoral candidate in Inglewood who he admits to knowing nothing about simply because he believed if that person was elected it could derail the Clippers plans since the proposed facility will be built there.

Okay, fine. He’s not so nice on the business end of things. Maybe the argument that it’s not personal could come into play here. But how is he with the fans? If James Dolan was a Jeopardy question the answer might go something like:

This NBA owner has made headlines for banning a fan from Madison Square Garden for suggesting he sell his team and kicking paying customers out of his own concerts.

Going forward, we’ll see poor personnel decisions, injuries, financially ill-advised contracts, puzzling draft choices and an inability to maintain stability in coaching and front office positions have all taken their toll on the New York Knicks’ ability to achieve success. Dolan, however, has been the one constant. I think an argument could be made that he’s the worst thing to ever happen to the New York Knicks.