The New York Knicks are suing fellow NBA franchise the Toronto Raptors for allegedly hiring a mole who passed the Knicks’ scouting reports and trade secrets on to the Raptors.
Ikechukwu Azotam was employed by the Knicks as a video, analytics and player-development assistant but left the franchise last week after they believed they had discovered that he had been leaking files and trade secrets to the Raptors. Azotam was hired in 2020 but the Knicks believe he only started passing information to the Raptors in June 2023 when the Toronto franchise appointed former Memphis Grizzlies assistance coach Darko Rajakovic as head coach.
Rajakovic, Azotam and several unidentified Raptors employees are named as defendants with the lawsuit stating “As a first time NBA head coach, Defendant Rajakovic would be expected to bring his own organizational structure and coaching method. Apparently, given his non-traditional path to his head coaching job, Defendant Rajakovic did not have his own, so he chose to exploit the Knicks' methods.”
A spokesperson for the Knicks' parent company MSG Sports said that “given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action.” The Raptors are yet to respond to the allegations.
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