Just days after he instructed security to kick a beloved former New York Knicks player out of Madison Square Garden, team owner James Dolan has decided to reconcile with another.
Latrell Sprewell, who was a fan favorite during his five seasons with the Knicks, publicly feuded with Dolan toward the end of his tenure in New York about 15 years ago. But, coincidentally of course, Dolan picked Sunday to invite Sprewell back to a game at MSG and bury the hatchet.
Latrell Sprewell is here at MSG, sitting next to owner James Dolan.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 12, 2017
Latrell Sprewell gets a nice hand from the MSG crowd as the arena plays the theme from "Welcome Back Kotter" overhead.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 12, 2017
From the sound of it, Dolan has decided to surround himself with former Knicks in the wake of the Charles Oakley incident.
What a total coincidence Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Bernard King and Bill Bradley are here.
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) February 12, 2017
The Knicks traded Sprewell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2003, and Sprewell went off on Dolan and several other members of the franchise when he returned for the first time as a visiting player. Dolan publicly criticized Sprewell’s character after the trade, which did not sit well with Latrell.
“His comments pretty much prove that he had something to do with the trade,” Sprewell said at the time.
He was then asked if he is bitter toward Dolan because of it.
“Yes. Well … I won’t go into it, but yes,” Sprewell added.
Sprewell being invited back to the Garden on Sunday is not a surprise. Fans have been critical of Dolan for kicking Oakley out of last week’s game, as have current and former players. You can see videos from the incident here.
Sprewell was asked about the Oakley/Knicks feud and said he feels it is time to move forward.
On Oakley, Sprewell told ESPN's Israel Gutierrez it "disappointing" & "unfortunate" and that it was time to "iron it out" and "get past" it.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 12, 2017
Dolan has said Oakley is not banned from MSG for life and laid out what the 53-year-old will need to do in order to be invited back. Because the team has been so bad recently, fans were quick to side with Oakley. Dolan is hoping he can parade other fan favorites around to help the situation.
Photo: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
