The long dispute between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors could finally be settled in July.
ESPN reported this week that the NBA will hold an arbitration hearing during the week of July 21 where commissioner Adam Silver will settle the issue. ESPN referenced a court filing Saturday in New York.
The Knicks sued the Raptors in Aug. 2023, alleging a former Knicks employee hired by the Raptors stole thousands of confidential files.
There has been little movement on the case since U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke ruled last June that Silver should decide the matter rather than the courts.
The lawsuit alleged that Ikechukwu Azotam, a Knicks employee from 2020-23, had taken the files with him in a bid to give Toronto a competitive advantage against its Atlantic Division rival.
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Toronto initially had asked Silver to settle the dispute, but New York fought that idea throughout the process, saying Silver could not do that fairly because Raptors co-owner Larry Tanenbaum is the chair of the NBA’s board of governors.
The Knicks, who sought more than $10 million in damages in the lawsuit, told ESPN after the decision last summer: “We (allegedly) were the victim of a theft of proprietary and confidential files in a clear violation of criminal and civil law,” the statement said. “We don’t think it’s appropriate for the commissioner of the NBA to rule on a matter involving his boss, the chairman of the NBA, and his team.”
They vowed to continue to look into further legal options, according to ESPN.
The Raptors told ESPN in a statement last summer: “The Raptors and (Raptors owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) are pleased that the court agreed this should be resolved by the NBA, which we have maintained is the correct forum for disputes of this nature. We hope this brings this matter closer to a resolution.”
The Knicks also had alleged Azotam took the files at the request of the Raptors. The team also named Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic, player development coach Noah Lewis and 10 “unknown” Raptors employees as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a new statement to ESPN, a Madison Square Garden Sports spokesperson said: “We continue to remain skeptical of this process as the NBA has consistently demonstrated that it has no desire to address this blatant theft of proprietary information, likely because the chairman of the NBA is the defendant.
“It’s been 18 months since our original complaint was lodged and even after the court ordered the NBA to schedule a hearing, the NBA neglected to do so and only took action after the last filed joint status report in December.”
The Raptors and NBA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment to ESPN, but the team has said in the past the allegations were “baseless” and a “public relations stunt.”