James Dolan believes the Knicks need some star power.
The owner of both the Knicks and Rangers spoke with reporters on Monday, and as the Knicks dropped to 10-31 with a 111-101 loss to the Trail Blazers, he said the difference between the two teams he owns is that the Rangers have a star in Henrik Lundqvist.
"If the Knicks had a Henrik, they'd probably be competing for a playoff spot," he said, per Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. "No Henrik, no playoff spot."
Of course, the Rangers are in 12th place and nine points out of a playoff spot and the Knicks do have a star in Kristaps Porzingis, but he is out indefinitely as he continues to recover from ACL surgery.
Yet the point is likely that Lundqvist is a sure-fire NHL Hall of Famer while the current Knicks roster has a combined zero All-Star appearances among them.
The Knicks have said they do not necessarily need to make a splash in free agency this summer, but if Dolan wants a Hall of Fame type star, Kevin Durant -- who the Knicks will square off against on Tuesday night when they visit the Warriors -- is expected to hit the market.
The Knicks also remain among the three worst teams in the NBA, giving them a shot at Duke phenom Zion Williamson in the NBA draft.
Dolan, however, dismissed the idea of tanking.
"I'll never tell a team to lose," he said. "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."
Most Knicks fans would prefer the team to lose, though, and Dolan has heard that sentiment plenty of times as well.
"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," he said. "They want us to get this kid out of Duke."