NBPA's Chris Paul, Michele Roberts lament Charles Oakley-Knicks incident
NEW ORLEANS – James Dolan went to the wrong conference room on Friday, when the New York Knicks owner took part in a panel deemed “Drafting a Winner” at the NBA’s annual tech summit at the Roosevelt Hotel.He should have gone to the National Basketball Players Association session with media members that took place down the street at the Ritz. Maybe then he’d get a better grip on why the recent Charles Oakley saga has left players so perplexed.
More than a week after the former Knicks big man was arrested at the Madison Square Garden for allegedly causing a stir, and with subsequent revelations that Oakley had long been a marked man inside the building where he was such a fan favorite for a decade, NBPA President Chris Paul and Executive Director Michele Roberts made it clear they’re still troubled by the situation.
“I have been a fan of the Knicks since I could spell,” said Roberts, a New York native and former defense attorney who was elected by the players in July 2014. “I welled up when I saw what happened to Oak, so of course I was affected by that.
“I’m doing more praying (about the situation) than I am being more pragmatic right now, but I don’t know that a single person who watched that didn’t find themselves affected, especially when you, like me, have been a fan of the Knicks and a fan of Oak’s for so many years.”
By the nature of their respective positions, Paul and Roberts carry perhaps the two most significant voices in the player community. Like Roberts, Paul tweeted about the matter when it first took place. His specific concern, as he said both then and on Friday, was the personal nature of the Knicks’ first public statement on the matter.
“He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon,” that now-infamous last line read.
MORE NBA:
Adam Silver, Michael Jordan help mend Charles Oakley, James Dolan feud
NBPA officers express concern over Oakley-Knicks conflict
“I know Oak personally, so that was real tough to watch,” Paul said. “To hear them say that they hope Oak is going to get some help, like he was mentally ill or something, that was tough because since I’ve come into the NBA, we talk about looking out for younger players and stuff like that. Oak has been a guy who has always checked on me – (during an) injury, anything like that. So to see him treated in that fashion was tough.”
This recent theme of Knicks player mistreatment isn’t helping their already-battered reputation in the player ranks. It is, by all measured accounts, a terrible sequel to the strained situation between team president Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony this season. As for the question of whether this situation might harm the Knicks on the free agency front, Paul could have been excused for thinking it was rhetorical.
“We’ll see,” he said.
