Knicks owner James Dolan allegedly told Knicks staff to record what Carmelo Anthony says on the court in the wake of the forward's run-in with Kevin Garnett. According to reports which emerged today, Dolan told two technicians to stand at either end of the court in the Knicks game against Chicago and record every word that Anthony said during the encounter - which the Bulls lost.

Disturbing behavior to say the least if this is true.

From the report:

Two audio technicians were stationed at two corners of the court — one a few feet just behind the Knicks bench, the other diagonally opposite — and they were holding those umbrella-shaped contraptions known as parabola microphones, which fed the audio into a DAT recorder on the truck on the loading dock.

These guys had one directive from Dolan: Record every syllable Carmelo Anthony utters and absorbs while he’s on the court and on the bench, the Madison Square Garden CEO ordered them, and send the tape directly to me.

The purpose of this command was unclear, but Dolan must have had a good reason to eavesdrop on Melo’s interactions. Was it to luxuriate in the poetic musings of his most valuable player, even though he is far from his most voluble player? Was it a teaching tool, so his coaches could school Melo on the potential hazards of courtside misconduct?

Or perhaps it was done to furnish proof to the NBA that his meal ticket is now a verbal target, particularly with notorious motormouths such as Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson in town that night for a full-court yakfest?

Image via: AP/Kathy Willens