Knicks owner James Dolan wants the NBA to adopt a more open accounting process for its finances and he plans to call for a vote on a resolution to that effect when the board of governors meets later this month, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

In a letter sent this week to the league office and the board of governors, Dolan stated that the NBA needs “increased financial transparency and operating efficiency.” His proposed resolution, which would take effect beginning with the 2025/26 fiscal year, would “adopt a zero-based method of budgeting operating costs, headcount, and capital expenditures for all League and Affiliate League operations” and “adopt a process to present and distribute the League’s annual proposed budgets inclusive of all underlying account detail summarized by department and type of expense, headcount, and fully allocated costs against each League revenue stream.”

The letter was co-signed by Dolan and Madison Square Garden chief operating officer Jamaal Lesane, who serves as the team’s alternate governor. They point out that the league’s operating budget has risen by nearly 8% over the previous year and cite an increase of more than 800 people in “League office headcount.”

The letter also requests further details “summarized by department and type of expense — including headcount, capital expenditures, and fully-loaded budgeted costs with respect to the League and each of its subsidiaries and Affiliate Leagues.” Dolan and Lesane are seeking an estimate of projected costs and employment numbers relating to the NBA’s new media rights deal, along with “any contemplated NBA Europe league operations.”

In addition, the Knicks are calling for next year’s budget proposal to be presented at the annual Las Vegas meeting in July so a vote can be taken in September when the owners meet again prior to the start of next season.

Bontemps points out that Dolan has clashed with the league on numerous topics over the last few years. He resigned from the advisory/finance and media committees in the summer of 2023 and sent a letter to the league last year criticizing its new television deal, which he claims will make regional sports networks “unviable.”

Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports notes that Sphere Entertainment Co., which is led by Dolan, released a statement Monday saying that its MSG Networks may have to file for bankruptcy soon unless $800MM in debt can be restructured. The company warned that the NBA’s new national media deal could take too many games away from local outlets.