David Stern talks, Jim Dolan won't listen on big decisions
Sunday, December 16th 2007, 4:00 AM

David Stern finally made some headway with Jim Dolan this past week, pushing the Garden CEO to settle with Anucha Browne Sanders.

Unfortunately for Stern, the NBA and thousands of Knicks fans who can't believe how awful things have gotten at the Garden, the answer appears to be not in the least.

Barring a 180-degree turn, Dolan will likely disregard Stern's recommendations when choosing Thomas' successor. But as depressing a thought as that is, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

According to league sources, the Stern-Dolan relationship was "horrific" only a few months ago. That stemmed from, among other things, Dolan trying to get a group of owners together to demand that the league be audited. With threats of lawsuits between the league and the Garden, Stern was described as equally "baffled" and "despondent" over Dolan's incompetency, the Knicks' continued free-fall and the on-going public-relations nightmare for the league and its flagship franchise.

"Stern only tolerates Dolan," a source said. "He doesn't respect him. He sees him as a guy who doesn't listen or care."

Dolan did finally listen to Stern when the commissioner advised him to settle the sexual harassment case about a week before the punitive damages phase was set to begin last Thursday. But with Dolan looking to exhaust all appeals, it took a series of talks before Stern's position was accepted and Dolan agreed to pay Browne Sanders $11.5 million.

"To say that Stern bullied Dolan is too strong," a league source said. "To say he ordered him to do it is too strong. To say he recommended is not strong enough. I think the way to say it is that Stern pushed Dolan to settle. He was very insistent."

But that looks to be a one-shot deal. One person who has had dealings with both men said this past week that Stern's influence, ultimately, "is as temporary as a blink of the eye."

Which is why the league, while elated that the case is finally over, isn't in a celebratory mood about what the future holds at the Garden.

"Dolan might take a meeting with Stern," said a source, looking ahead to when Thomas is fired and Dolan starts to look for a replacement. "But he's not going to do what Stern tells him he should do."

Stern would love to see his old friend and ex-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo hired to run the Knicks, and is expected to call Dolan and make that recommendation, just as he regularly pitches candidates for executive positions. He has done that in placing former NBA executives Rick Welts in Phoenix, Rod Thorn in New Jersey and Steve Mills with the Knicks.

But Stern already knows that Dolan is almost guaranteed to reject his bid to bring Colangelo to the Garden. Another potential candidate who would bring instant credibility, Indiana's outgoing CEO and president, Donnie Walsh, is also going to be pushed by league people. Both Walsh and Colangelo have confided to close friends that they would jump at the chance to run the Knicks, even if the job of cleaning up Thomas' mess could take as long as four years. But they also would not come to New York without being given total control of the basketball operations, and neither expects Dolan to agree to that demand.

So the NBA's victory this past week in getting Dolan to do what it wanted appears to be short-lived. The league fears that Dolan will replace Thomas with someone similar, who will simply follow Dolan's orders and will not be up to the challenge of turning around the team.

"For Stern, Dolan is a source of total frustration, more than any other owner in the league today," a source said. "Obviously, he doesn't get along with all of his owners. A guy like (Dallas owner Mark) Cuban is difficult to deal with, but at least he is committed to winning and does everything he can to make his franchise a success. But Dolan is a problem and he isn't going away."

Posted by djsunyc:

David Stern talks, Jim Dolan won't listen on big decisions
Sunday, December 16th 2007, 4:00 AM

David Stern finally made some headway with Jim Dolan this past week, pushing the Garden CEO to settle with Anucha Browne Sanders.

Unfortunately for Stern, the NBA and thousands of Knicks fans who can't believe how awful things have gotten at the Garden, the answer appears to be not in the least.

Barring a 180-degree turn, Dolan will likely disregard Stern's recommendations when choosing Thomas' successor. But as depressing a thought as that is, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

According to league sources, the Stern-Dolan relationship was "horrific" only a few months ago. That stemmed from, among other things, Dolan trying to get a group of owners together to demand that the league be audited. With threats of lawsuits between the league and the Garden, Stern was described as equally "baffled" and "despondent" over Dolan's incompetency, the Knicks' continued free-fall and the on-going public-relations nightmare for the league and its flagship franchise.

"Stern only tolerates Dolan," a source said. "He doesn't respect him. He sees him as a guy who doesn't listen or care."

Dolan did finally listen to Stern when the commissioner advised him to settle the sexual harassment case about a week before the punitive damages phase was set to begin last Thursday. But with Dolan looking to exhaust all appeals, it took a series of talks before Stern's position was accepted and Dolan agreed to pay Browne Sanders $11.5 million.

"To say that Stern bullied Dolan is too strong," a league source said. "To say he ordered him to do it is too strong. To say he recommended is not strong enough. I think the way to say it is that Stern pushed Dolan to settle. He was very insistent."

But that looks to be a one-shot deal. One person who has had dealings with both men said this past week that Stern's influence, ultimately, "is as temporary as a blink of the eye."

Which is why the league, while elated that the case is finally over, isn't in a celebratory mood about what the future holds at the Garden.

"Dolan might take a meeting with Stern," said a source, looking ahead to when Thomas is fired and Dolan starts to look for a replacement. "But he's not going to do what Stern tells him he should do."

Stern would love to see his old friend and ex-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo hired to run the Knicks, and is expected to call Dolan and make that recommendation, just as he regularly pitches candidates for executive positions. He has done that in placing former NBA executives Rick Welts in Phoenix, Rod Thorn in New Jersey and Steve Mills with the Knicks.

But Stern already knows that Dolan is almost guaranteed to reject his bid to bring Colangelo to the Garden. Another potential candidate who would bring instant credibility, Indiana's outgoing CEO and president, Donnie Walsh, is also going to be pushed by league people. Both Walsh and Colangelo have confided to close friends that they would jump at the chance to run the Knicks, even if the job of cleaning up Thomas' mess could take as long as four years. But they also would not come to New York without being given total control of the basketball operations, and neither expects Dolan to agree to that demand.

So the NBA's victory this past week in getting Dolan to do what it wanted appears to be short-lived. The league fears that Dolan will replace Thomas with someone similar, who will simply follow Dolan's orders and will not be up to the challenge of turning around the team.

"For Stern, Dolan is a source of total frustration, more than any other owner in the league today," a source said. "Obviously, he doesn't get along with all of his owners. A guy like (Dallas owner Mark) Cuban is difficult to deal with, but at least he is committed to winning and does everything he can to make his franchise a success. But Dolan is a problem and he isn't going away."