Knicks, Raptors Agree to Drop Suit Over ‘Mole’ Accused of Stealing

The Knicks and Raptors have agreed to stop fighting in court, jointly dropping a lawsuit that alleged Toronto used a newly hired video assistant to steal thousands of confidential scouting reports and other proprietary information while he was still employed by New York.

The two sides on Friday agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the same claims cannot be refiled. The dismissal means the lawsuit will no longer be hanging over the NBA when the Raptors play against the Knicks in New York on Nov. 30, the teams’ first on-court clash of the season. The filing contains no additional detail.

“The Knicks and MLSE withdrew their respective claims and the matter is resolved,” Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., which owns the Knicks, said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “The parties are focused on the future.”

The suit dates back to August 2023, when the Knicks sued the Raptors in New York federal court. The suit claimed that video assistant Ikechukwu Azotam—whom Toronto had hired away from New York earlier that month—forwarded information to his new team that was “critical to the Knicks’ efforts to maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals,” including scouting reports and information and data from Synergy Sports. It named as defendants Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (the company that owns the Raptors), its head coach Darko Rajaković, and 11 others.

The complaint accused the Raptors of recruiting and using Azotam “to serve as a mole within the Knicks organization to convey information that would assist the Raptors Defendants in trying to manage their team.”

The legal fight became contentious. In November 2023, after the Raptors had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the Knicks revealed in a court filing that they believed damages would exceed $10 million if the case went to trial. The following month, the Raptors said the matter should be sent to arbitration overseen by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and that they were considering countersuing the Knicks for defamation. A federal judge ruled in June 2024 that the dispute should be sent to arbitration.

It’s rare for NBA teams to sue each other in court since the league has an arbitration process to handle disputes. Amid the suit, Knicks owner James Dolan and the league did not see eye to eye on multiple matters. In November 2023, he resigned from his position on the NBA Board of Governors’ influential advisory, finance, and media committees, saying in a memo to Silver and the league’s other 29 owners: “Given all that has occurred lately, I have come to the conclusion that the NBA neither needs nor wants my opinion.” In May 2024, before the lawsuit had been sent to arbitration, the Knicks were the lone team between the NBA and WNBA to vote against a Toronto expansion franchise for the latter.

The dismissal ends the Knicks’ lawsuit against the Raptors, though it’s unclear whether the broader dispute has been fully resolved behind the scenes. As of March 1, the Knicks and Raptors were continuing to update the court on arbitration proceedings, telling the judge there was a hearing scheduled for July 21. On Oct. 2, the judge ordered the parties to file another status report by no later than Oct. 20, according to the docket. That status report will never come, since the parties have dropped the case.

Attorneys for the Knicks and Raptors did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did a representative for the NBA.