Knicks fans have spent the better part of two decades living in fear of those moments when James Dolan, the uber-fan who also happens to own the team, exercises his proprietor’s prerogatives and meddles with his billion-dollar toy.
Mostly, that fear has been warranted. Dolan’s whims have led to several of the missteps and maladroit missions that have led the Knicks to the bottom of the abyss. It was as close to a concession as he will ever give when Dolan hired Phil Jackson to run the team and promised Jackson would have autonomy. And Dolan mostly has adhered to that.