This is awesome. In light of the Charles Oakley fiasco and the persistent mess called the New York Knicks, Adrian Wojnarowski unleashes on James Dolan in this video essay.

Why Charles Oakley earned his seat in The Garden — and James Dolan never did. @WojVerticalNBA video essay pic.twitter.com/vna34vTYJl

— The Vertical (@TheVertical) February 11, 2017

Frank Isola of the NY Daily News reports that Knicks owner James Dolan has taken over negotiations with the Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony.

Carmelo Anthony’s future is now in James Dolan’s hands.

Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden, could decide as early as Saturday whether to agree to a blockbuster deal with the Denver Nuggets or risk losing the All-Star forward to the Nets.

Isola’s piece isn’t specific about the parameters of the trade because it doesn’t sound like the Knicks have decided who they are (and aren’t) willing to give up.

Dolan apparently included Danilo Gallinari in the latest version of the trade, but Ray Felton, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mosgov and Anthony Randolph have also been mentioned in these trade talks.

GM Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni are apparently against doing the trade, so if Dolan does pull it off, look for the Knicks to give up Gallinari and Felton, along with two or three of Fields, Chandler, Mosgov and Randolph. If Felton is included, the Knicks would likely get Chauncey Billups in return.

The Nuggets feel like they have some leverage since they have agreed in principle to a trade with the Nets, but if Anthony isn’t willing to sign the extension with New Jersey, it won’t matter. He’s reportedly irritated that the Knicks haven’t done more to get the trade done, and that irritation could lead to a sudden willingness to play with the Nets if he’s faced with playing for the Nuggets the rest of the year.

Per ESPN…

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul were among the players who attended a negotiating session between the NBA and the union Thursday.

“It’s important for me that all of us, as being the faces of the NBA, to be involved in the negotiations and what’s going on,” Anthony said as he left. “Our future is in jeopardy if we can’t come into a mutual agreement.”

LeBron and Wade are locked into long term deals, and it would be very difficult for the owners to negotiate any kind of changes to those contracts. The guys that really have something to lose with an owner-friendly CBA are Anthony and Paul, who will be signing new deals in the next two years.

Regardless, the show of force from the players’ side is important. The owners need to know that the league’s biggest names are behind the union in these negotiations.

The four-hour bargaining session Thursday was the first since February’s All-Star weekend, when the players — also strengthened by the surprising attendance of some big names — rejected the owners’ proposal. The union recently submitted its own proposal, but commissioner David Stern has indicated it’s similar to the current CBA, and the owners are seeking significant changes to the system.

Stern has estimated the league will lose about $370 million this season, which the union disputes. The sides began discussions last year but remained far apart, creating fears of a lockout next summer.

Stern cracks me up. He effuses positivity whenever he’s asked about the financial state of the league — to the point that I think he’s trying to hypnotize his audience — but now that it’s time to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, the league is suddenly $370 million in the red. After going on and on about how well the league is doing worldwide, he’s pleading poverty.

However, the CBA does need a few changes. Contracts need to be guaranteed only to a certain point — say, 50% in years 3-4-5 — or they need to be kept to a maximum of four years. Too many franchises handicap themselves by giving long-term, lucrative contracts to players on the decline. Also, there’s nothing a team can do when a perfectly good player is hamstrung by injuries after signing his deal (i.e. Michael Redd or Tracy McGrady).

I’d also like to see a harder cap. Teams with free-spending owners like James Dolan, Jerry Buss or Mark Cuban make things that much tougher on small market teams who can’t afford to keep up with the Joneses. Fortunately, these teams — the Knicks, Lakers and the Mavs — are generally way over the cap, so they aren’t competing directly with the small market teams for free agents. (The Knicks were obviously the exception this summer, but they’ll be over the cap before too long, especially if they rehire Isiah Thomas in a year or two.) All in all, the salary cap rules aren’t too bad — at least it’s not uncapped, like baseball.

Per the NY Daily News…

The Daily News has learned that Donnie Walsh considered resigning after Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan made the controversial move to hire Thomas, but Walsh decided to continue running the team despite his objections to Thomas having a role in the front office.

“Donnie finds this entire thing distasteful,” said one NBA source. “He’s had second thoughts about staying but he wants to finish the job.”

olan’s insistence on giving Thomas the ambiguous title of consultant angered Walsh, who for two years has been trying to hire former St. John’s All-American Chris Mullin as general manager. Dolan has refused to sign off on hiring Mullin and clearly has designs on giving that position to Thomas, who also holds the title of head coach at Florida International University in Miami.

The News reported yesterday that Dolan advised Walsh to hire Thomas as his general manager two weeks ago. When Walsh refused, Dolan decided to make Thomas a consultant, a move that was universally panned by several of Dolan’s top executives, according to sources.

Besides Walsh and Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni being against the move, Garden vice chairman Hank Ratner and Garden president Scott O’Neil voiced their displeasure but were overruled by Dolan, sources said.

As I wrote last week, Thomas’s GM talents are limited to college scouting and the draft. He performed pretty well in that area during his tenure as Knicks GM, but was a disaster in all other areas of the job. He was regularly fleeced in trades and was accused of sexually harassing a woman who worked for him.

To say that Dolan’s hiring of Thomas has been ‘universally panned’ is an understatement. Why the owner would bring Thomas back after such a terrible first stint is perplexing indeed.

Maybe the NBA will step in and save Dolan from himself. The league is looking into the details of Zeke’s deal, which may not be legal under the league’s rules, given his current job as head coach at FIU.

The Stephon Marbury Buyout Watch continues.

The banished Marbury told The Post yesterday his $1 million giveback is back on the table. Marbury said he’s waiting to hear back from Knicks president Donnie Walsh on his proposal.

Marbury, who is training in Los Angeles, says he has a firm offer from at least one club, allowing him to change his negotiating stance for the first time in seven weeks. The Celtics are the leading candidates to sign Marbury, according to a source.

Marbury had taken the $1 million giveback off the table during their stormy Dec. 1 meeting. Marbury put it back in play because at least one team has now made a commitment to him, allowing him to make the $1 million back.

Walsh last offered Marbury to take $3 million less. Marbury has been told by Knicks officials the matter is in owner James Dolan’s hands and he’s been awaiting word for several days.

Marbury also fears Dolan won’t accept his offer until after March 2, when he’d be no longer eligible for a playoff roster.

Let me get this straight — all this drama for a measly $2 million? I realize that this is a ton of money to normal people, but this is pocket change for James Dolan. Is $2 million worth the distraction of keeping Marbury on the roster? My guess is that the Knicks main problem with buying out Marbury is that they might be helping the Celtics in the process. But it’s not like the Knicks are a serious playoff contender — why not get rid of the headache?

As for Marbury, I don’t know why he hasn’t taken Dolan’s offer of a $3 million pay cut. He’s jeopardizing his ability to prove he’s worth a three- or four-year contract after this season. No one is going to sign him to a long-term deal if he doesn’t play (and play well) for the remainder of this season. Surely that’s worth $2 million to Starbury, right?