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The Knicks have contested that Silver would not be an unbiased decision-maker in the matter due to his connection to Larry Tanenbaum, a part-owner of the Raptors and the NBA’s chairman of the Board of Governors. In court filings, the Knicks had argued that Tanenbaum “serves as Silver’s boss and exercises control over and heavily influences Silver’s continued employment and salary.” Silver refused to respond to questions about his objectivity when he spoke with reporters in Las Vegas after the owners meetings in July. “The second part of your question [about the Knicks questioning my objectivity], I won’t respond to,” Silver said at the time while discussing the court’s decision to have the NBA handle the matter.
Stefan Bondy: NEWS: The Knicks and Raptors had been ordered by court nearly six months ago to go through the NBA to arbitrate their lawsuit. However, today the teams filed a joint letter explaining that the NBA has not even started the process. Knicks are not happy with Adam Silver. Here's a statement from an MSG Spokesman to The Post. “We’ve been waiting for any direction from the NBA on next steps in this matter for months – proving our point that the NBA is not capable of appropriately and fairly handling this serious theft of proprietary and confidential files. Unfortunately, because of the clear conflict of interest between the Commissioner and the Chairman of the NBA, there has been complete silence from the league.”
Vince Carter even held everyone’s attention when he wasn’t playing at all, setting off a firestorm when that Raptors-76ers series went to a Game 7. The game was scheduled for late Sunday afternoon. But Carter was determined to attend his graduation from North Carolina in Chapel Hill Sunday morning, when he received the degree in African-American Studies he’d earned the fall before. He got the degree, got on then-owner Larry Tanenbaum’s plane, and got to Wells Fargo Center five hours before tipoff. But Carter only shot 6 of 18 from the floor, missing the potential series-winner at the buzzer, setting off frenzied debate about whether he’d made the right decision. Carter told me that summer that he’d do it all over again, the exact same way.
James Dolan expresses concern over NBA's operating budget increase
The NBA’s proposed operating budget has increased by nearly 8% year-over-year, and the league’s Board of Governors (BoG) were not adequately briefed on the candidates to replace Larry Tanenbaum as BoG chair ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Daily News has learned. These concerns were highlighted in a letter Knicks owner James Dolan sent to the NBA’s Board of Governors on Monday, according to a source familiar with the contents.
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The ownership structure of the Raptors likely will change in the next two years, with Bell and Rogers having the option to buy out Larry Tanenbaum’s remaining holdings in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, per Sportsnet. Ujiri and Tanenbaum are tight; it is possible these two contracts are the last big things Ujiri does in this position.
Josh Lewenberg: Tanenbaum: “This team is Canada’s team.” While Toronto’s WNBA team (14th in the league) will play its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Exhibition Place, the plan is for it to also play select regular season games in Vancouver and Montreal.
CBC Sports has learned that Kilmer Sports Inc., headed by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, has been granted an expansion franchise with the Women's National Basketball Association. An announcement is expected May 23 in Toronto, with the team to begin play in May 2026, according to four people with knowledge of the deal but who are not authorized to speak about it.
Michael Grange: I was sent this statement from Courtney Glen, Vice President of public affairs and communications with Kilmer Group re: reports of Larry Tanenbaum leading a bid for WNBA team in Toronto. No confirmation, but very much not 'no' -- pic.twitter.com/3SUQnYpI5G
I was sent this statement from Courtney Glen, Vice President of public affairs and communications with Kilmer Group re: reports of Larry Tanenbaum leading a bid for WNBA team in Toronto. No confirmation, but very much not 'no' -- pic.twitter.com/3SUQnYpI5G
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) March 5, 2024
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Billionaire Larry Tanenbaum is pursuing a WNBA expansion team for Toronto, CBC Sports has learned. Tanenbaum, a minority owner and chairman of sporting giant Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment which owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC, Argos and Marlies, is seeking the team through his holding company, the Kilmer Group. CBC Sports spoke with three people familiar with the deal who requested confidentiality as they are not authorized to speak publicly about it. A source said Tanenbaum's group is expected to meet with WNBA leadership to discuss the bid and an announcement could come as soon as May.
THE FIRST STRIKE in what several legal experts have described as a first-of-its-kind legal war between two NBA teams can be traced back to Aug. 17, 2023. It came in the form of a letter from the chief legal counsel for the New York Knicks, and it was addressed to Toronto Raptors owner Larry Tanenbaum. It claimed the Knicks had, only days before, uncovered a dastardly conspiracy at the hands of their Atlantic Division rival, situated some 340 miles away.
Knicks want over $10 million from Raptors in lawsuit
The Knicks are seeking over $10 million in their lawsuit against the Raptors and argue that Adam Silver would be compromised as an arbiter because of his cozy relationship with Toronto minority owner Larry Tanenbaum, according to a 24-page response filed Monday in a New York court. The filing, which was a response to the Raptors’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit, focused on several reasons why the court should handle the dispute, rather than the NBA, including Tanenbaum’s current position as the NBA’s Chairman of the Board of Governors.
“In his capacity as Chairman, Tanenbaum serves as Silver’s boss and exercises control over and heavily influences Silver’s continued employment and salary,” the Knicks wrote. “Tanenbaum and Silver also have a close relationship. “Among other things, Tanenbaum has been described as ‘a close ally of Commissioner Adam Silver.’ Silver himself described Tanenbaum as ‘not just my boss as the chairman of the board of governors, but he’s very much a role model in my life.’
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