Knicks’ Roger Mason: James Dolan Wants Lockout to End


There are hawkish NBA team owners who wouldn’t mind if the lockout wiped out the entire season. Just don’t count James Dolan among them, according to Roger Mason. Per the NY Post: “Mason, vice president of the Players Association, has rubbed shoulders with the Knicks owner countless times this summer and fall in Manhattan hotel board rooms instead of the team’s plush practice facility. ‘You can look at it and say the majority of owners don’t want a deal,’ Mason [said]. ‘But there are owners eager to get a deal done. At this moment they are overshadowed by a contingent of owners who are trying to get everything they want in a new CBA.’ Asked if Dolan is one of the owners in the minority, Mason said: ‘Definitely. You feel excitement in the city. I know Dolan sees that, hears that. He’s definitely one of the owners who’s ready to get back to work. There are a committee of owners, and their voice is going to be as one. But you know [Dolan] has put a lot into renovating the Garden and put a lot into the team. He had a lot of tough years and there’s a lot of promise now. He wants to get back out there.’ Mason said it was a quiet weekend following Thursday’s disastrous end to federal mediation in which NBA owners refused to negotiate on other issues unless the players accepted a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ 50-50 revenue split. Commissioner David Stern is expected to cancel more games this week, possibly as soon as today, likely shutting the NBA down through Christmas.”