By ADAM ZAGORIA
Knicks fans may be fantasizing about landing Duke’s Zion Williamson in the NBA Draft in five months, but Knicks owner Jim Dolan says he’s no fan of tanking.
“I’ll never tell a team to lose,” Dolan told reporters, according to the Daily News. “I think teams that tank are giving away something really big. I think they’re giving away that emotional development for the team. You can see how important that is.
“You have responsibility to the fans; fans pay for tickets and they deserve (the) best game you can give them. That’s probably No. 1. But when you go in and tell a team, even if you’re just telling the coach, to lose the game, you’re dispiriting your team. That hurts more than getting a better draft pick helps. It’s hard to reignite the spirit of the team.”
With their loss in Portland, the Knicks fell to 9-30 and are now tied for the third-worst record in the NBA, behind only the Cavaliers and Suns and tied with the Bulls.
The Knicks now have a 13.2 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a 40 percent shot at a top-4 pick. Williamson and teammate R.J. Barrett are widely regarded as the top two picks.
“I mean, if you’re talking about what I hear, sure, fans are telling me, with the Knicks, they’re saying, they don’t want us to win,” Dolan said. “They want us to get this kid out of Duke (Williamson).”
Zion made his Madison Square Garden debut last month and dressed in the Knicks locker room.
“If they draft me, I would love to play for the Knicks,” the 6-foot-7 Williamson said then. “I don’t really care where I go, just the experience of being in the NBA. Whoever wants me and whoever sees the most in me, that’s where I want to be.”
The Knicks visit Durant and Golden State on Tuesday night.
Photo: AP
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