Oakley offers to cook for Knicks' Dolan: 'Might put something in it'

Charles Oakley was a key player and fan favorite for the New York Knicks from 1989-98. Yet, like many Gothamites, he hasn't been particularly fond of the team's longtime stewardship by Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan.

As a result, Oakley is estranged from the franchise he's probably best-remembered as a member of, and, in traditional Oak fashion, he's not backing down.

"The boss don't like me," Oakley said of Dolan to the New York Times' Scott Cacciola. "I wouldn't mind having a sit-down dinner with Dolan. I wouldn't mind cooking him dinner. Might put something in it, though!" Oakley has a fondness for cooking.

Now 52 and retired as a player for 12 years, he said that he's tried multiple times to set up a meeting with Dolan.

"I mean, I had at least 15 people try to set up a meeting," he said. "(Dolan) won't meet. I want to sit down to talk to him. I want me and him in a room. And lock the door. Lock that door!

"I mean, he can have the police outside the door."

Dolan, who has overseen the Knicks to a .427 winning percentage in 18 seasons as the Garden's head honco, was not impressed when Oakley advised LeBron James to avoid the Knicks in free agency in 2010.

"The Knicks have fabulous relationships with almost all of our alumni," MSG spokesman Barry Watkins told Cacciola. "But when it comes to Charles' relationship with the organization, he is his own worst enemy."

Oakley, known for his colorful language and beefs with numerous players of his era - including Charles Barkley - sees it another way.

"One day," he said, "(the Knicks) gonna need me for something."