52
Bloomberg Businessweek July 29, 2019a functionofhowuniquethisis.”
Forthesecondquarterof2019,
MSGrevenuewas$632million,up
18%from2018;thesports group
earned$315million in the same
period, a 19% improvement. The
earnings were announced just days after the
latest unpopular personnel move, when the
Knicks traded the injured but extremely pop-
ular Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks.
Dolan may not be selling, but he’s prepar-
ing to spin off the sports group into another
publicly traded entity. Last fall, MSG’s board
announced plans to split into a “pure play”
sports company and a live entertainment com-
pany. Dolan and his family would retain con-
trol of voting shares in both; the main point of
the spinoff seems to be to sell more common
stock to generate capital for growth. Gabelli
thinks Dolan’s primary motivation is to raise
money for his two enormous MSG Sphereentertainment
venue projects, in Las Vegas and London.
Could the sports group be put up for saledowntheroad?
Dolan has assured everyone in recent monthsthathehasno
interest in selling either of his sports teams. “Thewholeorga-
nization is geared toward winning,” he said a fewmonthsago.
“We want our teams to be successful.” And whiletheRangers
have won quite a bit, “we don’t have that withtheKnicks,”he
said. “We’ve had mistakes and missteps. Thekindsofthings
that set the team back.”
This is as close as he’s come to admittingfault,person-
ally or as a franchise. Dolan, President Mills,andGeneral
Manager Perry all declined to comment forthisstory,spe-
cifically or generally. I had asked if they mightwanttobea
little reflective, to look back on those mistakesandmissteps
during this pivotal off-season, when peoplehavesomuch
hope that a corner will be turned. Dolan hadnointerestin
thepast,I wastold.Hewaslookingforward.JOEFAVORITO,WHORANCOMMUNICATIONS
for the Knicks from 2000 to 2006, says Dolandoesn’tget
enough credit for the things he does right.Heprioritizes
the hiring of women and minorities. He’s committedtothe
Garden of Dreams Foundation, which providesprogramsand
scholarshipsforthousandsofdisadvantagedkids.Dolanwas
instrumentalinorganizingthemassiveConcertforNewYork
CityonemonthaftertheSept.11 attacks, aswellasa fund-
raiser last year for Puerto Rico. When his closefriendandfor-
mer MSG executive Mark Lustgarten died of pancreaticcancer
in 1999, Dolan started a foundation in his namethat’snow
the single largest fundraiser for pancreatic cancerresearch
in the world. Many, many former players singhispraisesand
laud his generosity.
It can be difficult to square this portraitwithDolan’s
prickly public presence, his combative andbeleagueredstance, his general vibe of mis-
ery in the role of Knicks owner.
Butit beginstomakesensewhen
youseehiminhisotherelement,
asrock’n’ roll frontman. His side
project,asleadsingeroftheblues-
rockbandJD& theStraightShot,makesfor
aneasytarget.Heis,afterall,abillionaire
who pays a group of accomplished Nashville
musicians enough to call themselves his band.
They tour the world. In 2014 they opened for
the Eagles ... at Madison Square Garden.
But that version of Jim Dolan? He seems
happy. To see him onstage with his band is
toalmost forget the angry guy slumped in a
folding chair. It’s like he puts on a fedora and
becomesa differentman.
That’stheguythatDeadspinwriterDave
McKennametin2016. McKenna writes about
music, too, and it was in that role that he
arrangedtointerview the lead singer of JD & the Straight Shot
ontheband’sstop in Washington, D.C.
McKenna asserted in his story that Dolan is the richest tour-
ing musician in the world, with twice the net worth of No. 2,
Paul McCartney. And that he looks comfortable onstage. “He’s
a very good frontman,” McKenna says. “He told jokes. He has
fun, and that comes through. I could tell he would rather be
onstage with his band than do anything with the Knicks or
Madison Square Garden. Clearly he was born into those roles,
but the musical role he chose. He’s in a tough spot, because
he’s in such a great spot. How can you root for a billionaire?
He’s not putting anything on the line except his pride. But
that’s a risk that he doesn’t have to take.”
Dolan and McKenna stayed in touch for a while after the
story. “I am honestly fond of him,” McKenna says, and when-
ever Deadspin wrote a story about the Knicks, he’d call or
write Dolan for comment. For instance, after the infamous
2017 argument with Hamersky, Dolan “didn’t try to say, ‘I
should’ve acted better,’ ” McKenna recalls. “He said, ‘That
guy’s a dick.’ It was hilarious to hear. Thinking of a billionaire
as a human being is hard to do.”
Lastyear,ona lark,McKennaaskedDolantowritea song
forthe 2018 DeadspinAwards.Withouteverconfirmingthat
hewasgoingto,Dolandelivereda funny,self-deprecating
song—plus accompanying video—a few days before the show.
“He put an incredible amount of effort into it,” McKenna says.
“He wants to be liked.”
Not long after, a Deadspin writer wrote a critical post, and
Dolan called. “He was very, very angry,” McKenna says. It was
the last time they spoke. Dolan seemed to feel betrayed. “He
didn’t understand that I couldn’t get people at Deadspin to
stop writing what they wanted to write about him. I can’t con-
trol what other people think about him.”
Still, McKenna says, he misses the friendship, or whatever
it was. “I miss him because he’s fascinating. I felt genuine“This might be
the only time
in the next 10
years when this
many marquee
free agents
come on the
market at the
same time.
And you don’t
even get a sniff
of one”FRANK FRANKLIN/AP PHOTO; JAMES: JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGESThe Knicks’ Ron Baker crashes into Dolan, November 2017.