Vin Baker: Dolan called 'sounding really sad' to ask me to come to Knicks game

James Dolan did his best to insulate himself from a maelstrom of bad public-relations buzz, responding to backlash over the MSG ban he issued to Charles Oakley by inviting Knicks franchise legends Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, and Bernard King to sit with him for Sunday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

It's unclear how many former Knicks in Dolan's Rolodex got the call before Sprewell - who hadn't been invited to MSG since feuding with the Knicks owner after being traded in 2003 - but at least one more of them was apparently invited.

Vin Baker played just 41 games in a Knicks uniform, and says he hadn't been in touch with Dolan since that brief tenure ended, but that didn't stop Dolan from reaching out.

"(Dolan) called me sounding really sad asking me if I would come sit with him," Baker told Jordan Schultz of The Huffington Post. "Hadn't spoken to him in 15 years."

The Knicks don't play another home game until after the All-Star break, but be sure to tune in Feb. 25 when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. Maybe Dolan will be flanked by Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry.