Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Mills: Dolan 'true to his word' with Phil

GM Steve Mills says owner James Dolan has been mostly hands off when it comes to the Knicks of late.

“I think [he] has been true to his word when we had conversations about Phil joining earlier. He was going to remove himself from the [day to day basketball operations] of the Knicks and be there if he needed him. But only get involved if we asked him to be involved,” Mills said on Friday.

“I can honestly say that I have had one conversation with [Dolan] this summer since the end of the season. We’ve had more conversations about the D League and the investment that he’s making for us in terms of developing players and that process. But he’s been true to his word in allowing Phil and I to work together and develop a good rapport and [to] allow Phil to set the culture and the tone for this organization.”

Dolan himself said earlier this month that he’d been more hands off with the Knicks this summer.

Dolan has a history of getting involved in basketball decisions. One example? He orchestrated a trade to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets in 2011 against the wishes of then GM Donnie Walsh.

There reportedly was an issue between Jackson and Dolan in April over a personnel matter.

According to the New York Daily News, Jackson wanted to make changes to the team personnel but was overruled by Dolan. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith later reported that Jackson wanted to make changes to the medical staff but was again rebuffed by Dolan.

Since then, it appears as if the two men haven’t butted heads. As we’ve said before, this relationship is worth monitoring given Dolan’s history. But so far it seems as if the owner has truly taken a “hands off” approach.

Clearing the air with Tyson: Over the summer, Jackson said that he wanted to change the culture of the Knicks when he dealt away Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler. Chandler took that as a perceived slight and fired back last week, saying he did nothing to hurt the Knicks’ chemistry last season.

On Friday, Jackson was asked if his comments were intended as a shot at Chandler.

“No, we like Tyson. He played well for the Knicks over the years,” Jackson said. “I unfortunately wasn’t here [for most of his tenure]. But he had a real tough year last year there’s no doubt about it, by his own admission. And the opportunity came where I thought we could improve our basketball club by doing some things a little bit different.

“And in the process I thought about Tyson going back to Dallas, the opportunity is good for him. A place where he played really well and won a championship and I know they’ll welcome him back there and I hope him all the success. Not too much against us. But I hope him all the success in the NBA in the world. And we appreciate what he did here.”

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