Raptors Share Brief Comments on Ongoing Legal Battles with Knicks

The Toronto Raptors were shocked by the lawsuit from the New York Knicks but do not seem overly worried as the legal process plays out

The Toronto Raptors weren’t going to say much about the ongoing lawsuit levied by the New York Knicks at the organization due to allegations of intelligence theft, but if it’s something that’s worrying the organization, Monday’s Media Day certainly didn’t show it.

It’s been just over a month since the Knicks filed the suit alleging a former member of the organization Ikechukwu Azotam shared thousands of proprietary files with his new employers in Toronto. The suit suggested Azotam acted a “mole” as part of a larger conspiracy that involved new head coach Darko Rajaković who New York suggested needed help creating a gameplan for Toronto as a first-time head coach.

“I was surprised. I was shocked,” Rajaković said of his reaction to the suit. “I did not know where it was coming from.

“What I can say is, I know who I am. I know how my parents raised me. I know what I see every single day when I look in the mirror. I know that there's nothing that I should be worried about. And I cannot wait for this lawsuit to be over so everybody can find the truth.”

Raptors president Masai Ujiri was more dismissive of the suit.

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“I think there has been one time in the history of the NBA that a team has sued the team on time. Go figure,” he said.

As for Azotam, he remains a member of the Raptors organization.

“He came to our organization highly recommended by various people in NBA as a high character guy, I had a chance to see that as well,” Rajaković said of Azotam. “I cannot comment on what happened there, whether he’s innocent or not. To my mind, he is.”