Knicks guard Roger Mason knows at least one owner who wished the NBA lockout ended with a labor agreement Thursday night: James Dolan.
Mason, vice president of the Players Association, has rubbed shoulders with the Knicks owner countless times this summer and fall in Manhattan hotel board rooms instead of the team’s plush practice facility.
“You can look at it and say the majority of owners don’t want a deal,” Mason told The Post yesterday from his Los Angeles home. “But there are owners eager to get a deal done. At this moment they are overshadowed by a contingent of owners who are trying to get everything they want in a new CBA.”
Asked if Dolan is one of the owners in the minority, Mason said: “Definitely. You feel excitement in the city. I know Dolan sees that, hears that. He’s definitely one of the owners who’s ready to get back to work.
“There are a committee of owners, and their voice is going to be as one. But you know [Dolan] has put a lot into renovating the Garden and put a lot into the team. He had a lot of tough years and there’s a lot of promise now. He wants to get back out there.”
Mason said it was a quiet weekend following Thursday’s disastrous end to federal mediation in which NBA owners refused to negotiate on other issues unless the players accepted a “take-it-or-leave-it” 50-50 revenue split.
Commissioner David Stern is expected to cancel more games this week, possibly as soon as today, possibly shutting the NBA down through Christmas.
“It’s hard to put a percentage on it,” said Mason when asked the chances of a 2011-12 season. “We’re not at the table with them. We want to get back and start getting with the league again. I couldn’t say 50 percent, 40 percent. At this point, I don’t know where the owners are. If they’re going to impose a completely different system and try to get more money than we’ve already offered them, as a union we stand united together. We can’t take the league back to what it was in the 1960s.”
If the lockout ends, Mason, 31, officially becomes a free agent. During his exit interview with coach Mike D’Antoni, he was told the Knicks want him back. They’ll likely only have room for a minimum-type contract. Mason’s veteran leadership and ability to play both guard positions would be valuable.
Mason said D’Antoni apologized to him during that interview for banishing him from the rotation until late in the season. Mason was a key part of the rotation in the playoffs, but admits he wasn’t sharp after playing just 26 regular-season games.
“Mike basically said he wishes he had played me earlier,” said Mason, who signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal as a free agent in 2010. “He knows someone like me can help. He told me like he’d like to have me back.
“It was a bad taste in my mouth with how the season ended, specifically how the season went for me. I have a hunger I haven’t had in a long time. I want to make up for last year. I know I didn’t show the type player I am. If the lockout has done anything, it’s allowed me to be in the gym even more.”
Because of his VP role in the players’ union, Mason felt compelled to nix multiple overseas offers. He played one season in Israel and got an offer to return with an end-of-lockout “opt-out.” He received a similar offer from a team in Spain and two offers from China, which doesn’t offer opt-outs.
“I’ve been around this whole process the last two years and wanted to fulfill my commitment, the obligation I have,” Mason said. “I want to see this through so we can get back to playing ball. I’ve been fortunate to save enough money.”
Mason will train this week with Landry Fields in Los Angeles, but would rather be on a New York-bound flight with union president Derek Fisher for more negotiations.