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Dolan optimistic: Knicks will have 'very successful offseason'

Tim Clayton - Corbis / Corbis Sport / Getty

New York Knicks owner James Dolan has not only received the brunt of the blame for his team's lack of success over the past 19 seasons, but he's also caused outrage recently for administering a lifetime ban to a fan for yelling at him to "sell the team."

However, despite the negative perception from fans, Dolan told "The Michael Kay Show" on Tuesday that he doesn't believe the team will be impacted this summer when they have an opportunity to land multiple marquee free agents.

"New York is the Mecca of basketball," Dolan said, according to the YES Network. "We hear from people all the time - from players, from representatives - about who wants to come. We can't respond because of NBA rules, but that doesn't stop them from telling us. ... And I can tell you from what we've heard, we're going to have a very successful offseason when it comes to free agents."

The Knicks created two max slots when they shipped Kristaps Porzingis and the multi-year deals of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee to the Dallas Mavericks before this year's trade deadline.

This summer, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Klay Thompson could all hit the open market to form the best free-agent class in years.

The last time the Knicks had the chance to score a superstar was 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were all free agents. However, they ended up with former All-Star Amare Stoudemire as their lone major acquisition.

New York has had just five All-Star players since 2002, including Porzingis last season. Carmelo Anthony is the only Knick to have received multiple selections during that span, as he was named an All-Star six times during his New York tenure.

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