The Knicks have filed a lawsuit against the Raptors and several members of their organization, as relayed by Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv.
Among those being sued is a former Knicks employee who is now employed by the Raptors. That employee “illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position” in Toronto, an MSG/Knicks spokesperson said in a statement to Begley and Smith.
The lawsuit names former Knicks assistant video coordinator and player development assistant Ikechukwu Azotam as the employee who funned “confidential” information to the Raptors, including new coach Darko Rajakovic.
Per the report, the Knicks contacted the Raptors and the NBA prior to filing the lawsuit.
“These files include confidential information such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and materials and more,” the statement read. “Given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action.”
Azotam left his job with the Knicks and joined the Raptors this offseason, the lawsuit says, per Begley and Smith. After landing the job, he began to share “scouting reports, play frequency reports, a prep book, and a link to third-party licensed software,” the suit read.
“The Defendants’ actions have caused and will continue to cause damage to the Knicks and, unless restrained, will further damage the Knicks, the nature and extent of which may not be able to be proven with certainty,” the suit continued.
“As a first time NBA head coach, Defendant Rajaković would be expected to bring his own organizational structure and coaching method. Apparently, given his non-traditional path to his head coaching job, Defendant Rajaković did not have his own, so he chose to exploit the Knicks’ methods.”
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