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Baxter Holmes
The New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors agreed to voluntarily dismiss a 2023 lawsuit involving the alleged theft of thousands of confidential files, according to a court filing Friday that was obtained by ESPN.
Spokespersons representing the teams issued the same statement to ESPN: “The Knicks and [Raptors owner] Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment withdrew their respective claims and the matter is resolved. The Parties are focused on the future.”
The Knicks filed the lawsuit in August 2023, seeking more than $10 million in damages. The team alleged that the Raptors poached Ikechukwu Azotam, who worked for New York from 2020 to 2023, and ordered him to provide a trove of internal information after Toronto began recruiting him in the summer of 2023. The Knicks argued that this effort was geared toward giving the Raptors a competitive advantage.
The Knicks specifically alleged that Azotam — who worked for the Knicks as an assistant video coordinator, then as a director of video/analytics/player development assistant — sent the Raptors thousands of confidential files, including play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and opposition research.
The Knicks also alleged that Azotam did so at the request of the Raptors, whom they said were trying to “organize, plan, and structure the new coaching and video operations staff,” the August 2023 complaint stated.
The Raptors, Azotam, Toronto head coach Darko Rajaković, player development coach Noah Lewis and 10 “unknown” employees were listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
In an October 2023 court filing, the Raptors called the Knicks’ allegations “baseless” and a “public relations stunt.” The Raptors also argued that the “alleged ‘theft of data’ involved little more than publicly available information compiled through public sources readily accessible to all NBA Members.”
The Raptors repeatedly called for NBA commissioner Adam Silver to step in and settle the dispute, and a judge in the U.S. Southern District Court in Lower Manhattan agreed.
The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, meaning it is dismissed permanently.
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