Raptors aim to dismiss 'baseless' Knicks lawsuit - ESPN

In a sternly worded court filing Monday, the Raptors are seeking to dismiss the Knicks' recent lawsuit against them for allegedly conspiring to steal thousands of confidential scouting files, calling it «baseless» and a «public relations stunt» by the Knicks, according to a copy of the filing obtained by ESPN.

Further, the Raptors asked for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to adjudicate the dispute between the two Atlantic Division rivals, with a lawyer for Raptors owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment writing that the lawsuit «has no business wasting judicial resources given the all-encompassing arbitration clause in the parties' governing agreement.»

In August, the Knicks sued the Raptors, members of the Toronto organization and a former Knicks employee whom they alleged «illegally procured and then disclosed proprietary information» to the Raptors.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Knicks accused Ikechukwu Azotam, who worked for the Knicks from 2020 to 2023, of sending the Raptors thousands of confidential files — including play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files, opposition research and more — after the team began recruiting him to join their organization in summer 2023.

The Knicks accused Azotam — who worked for the Knicks as an assistant video coordinator, then as a director of video/analytics/player development assistant — of violating a confidentiality clause in an employment agreement and alleged that members of the Raptors «directed Azotam's actions and/or knowingly benefited from Azotam's wrongful acts.»

In Monday's filing, the Raptors' lawyer writes, «The Knicks' conduct from the outset of this dispute leaves no doubt that