With the NBA closing in on the new media rights deal that is reported to be around $74.6 billion, the league is heading toward a massive shift in its revenue-sharing policies. While the deal does promise more money and revenue for everyone, owners of the big market teams are not too pleased with the new policies. Expressing his concern through a letter to the Board of Governors, Knicks owner James Dolan heavily criticized Adam Silver’s strategy, which was made public by ESPN on Monday. And the NBA Commissioner finally responded to Dolan’s criticism without revealing much.

Addressing Dolan’s sharp-worded letter during a presser, Adam Silver broke his silence about the Knicks owner’s concerns. “My response is that try to keep these issues in the family. Yes, Jim Dolan did send a letter to his partner teams and the league office that was discussed certainly at our meetings. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into the specifics of what was discussed.”

Refusing to reveal the intricacies of the issue, Silver was probably not pleased that Dolan’s merciless criticism toward the league was made public. Maybe that is because, in that letter, he highlighted Silver’s plan to retain $6 billion of the NBA-related fees without any reasonable justification for arriving at that sum, while also pointing out that the new media rights deal works toward taking control away from the team owners and also threatens the downfall of regional sports networks.

“The NBA has made the move to an NFL model, deemphasizing and depowering the local market… Once again, pride of ownership is what is sacrificed. We are well on our way to becoming a one size fits all, characterless organization. Just remember we did this on the backs of owners like Jerry Buss,” Dolan wrote in the letter. He was also frustrated that the league is planning to distribute sponsorship and local media rights money between all teams, while big-market teams like the Knicks bring in a lot more revenue compared to the small-market teams.

Adam Silver gives a major update on Knicks-Raptors lawsuit

As Adam Silver tries to put out the fire ignited by James Dolan, there is one more thing he has to worry about regarding the NY franchise. And that is the ongoing legal battle between the Knicks and the Raptors. It was last August when the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Toronto side and their parent company MLSE, claiming that an employee from the Raptors organization who formerly worked with the Knicks, took integral team information with him when he switched jobs.

A former Knicks video coordinator, Ike Azotam was accused by the Knicks of taking nearly 3,000 files with him, including details like scouting reports and playbook, and disclosing it to the people in the Raptors org. However, the District Court judge determined that the case should be solved internally by Adam Silver and the league office and reach an arbitration between both teams. However, the Knicks feared that Silver’s friendly relationship with Raptors Chairman Larry Tanenbaum might hamper a fair judgment.

During today’s presser, Silver was asked how the arbitration process was going and what his reaction was to the Knicks’ claim about him not being able to arbitrate the case objectively due to the Raptors’ ties. To that, Silver responded, “The 2nd part of your question I won’t respond to. The 1st part that we are in receipt of the district court of the decisions and in the process of working through those issues at the league office right now.”

By the looks of it, it seems like Adam Silver has a lot on his plate right now with James Dolan’s public criticism and the Knicks-Raptors battle. And it’ll be interesting to see how it impacts the new media rights deal going forward.

Before you go, though, be sure to check this video of Leonard Armato’s take on the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe. Don’t forget to check back in for more such updates from our ES Fancast!