New York Knicks owners James Dolan said in a rare interview that he will indeed consider selling his basketball team, for the right price.
Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden, also owns the New York Rangers and recently put the New York Liberty up for sale.
The billionaire confirmed to ESPN this week that there have been "feelers," regarding the availability of the Knicks. Some of those offers have exceeded $5 billion.
Dolan added, however, that "no one has come through with a bona fide offer" and that the estimated value of the team is "like a stock price. It's only important if you're going to buy or sell."
While Dolan says he loves his teams, he remarked that he has a responsibility to the other people with equity in the Knicks and Rangers to consider good offers.
"They hold the majority of the vote..." Dolan said. "As a majority owner, I don't want to sell, either. As the head of the public company, you can't say you can't sell, because then you're telling your shareholders that your own personal feelings about your assets are more important than their money. And they won't invest with you if you do that."
Dolan's statements confirm reports from this past summer that he was preparing his sports assets for sale. The news at the time caused MSG stock to surge.
Since Dolan took over as chairman of Madison Square Garden in 1999, the Knicks have been painted in NBA circles as a picture of dysfunction and mediocrity.
While the team appeared in the NBA Finals (a loss to the San Antonio Spurs) in Dolan's first year at the helm, the team has won only a handful of playoff series since and been beleaguered by bad management, failed personnel decisions and repeated injuries to the team's most important and highest-paid players.
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