Lawyers for the Toronto Raptors called the Knicks’ lawsuit that alleges theft of proprietary information by an ex-Knick employee "baseless" and a "publicity stunt" in a motion filed on Monday.

Last month, the Knicks filed suit against the Raptors and several members of their organization, including former Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam, alleging that Azotam "illegally took thousands of proprietary files" from the Knicks and disclosed it to members of the Raptors, including new head coach Darko Rajaković and other members of the coaching staff.

Rajakovic has publicly denied any wrongdoing.

Lawyers for the Raptors on Monday asked the court to compel the Knicks to arbitrate all claims raised in the complaint and either dismiss the suit or stay all proceedings pending results of the arbitration.

They argue that the matter should be adjudicated by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The lawyers cited the NBA Constitution, which states that the commissioner "shall have exclusive, full, complete, and final jurisdiction of any dispute involving two (2) or more Members of the Association."

The Knicks say that the complaint falls outside of the commissioner’s purview because it deals with criminal matters of theft of proprietary information. A lawyer for the NBA informed the Knicks and Raptors that the league would allow the court to determine whether the issue should be adjudicated in federal court or before Silver.

The Knicks allege that Azotam, under the instruction of the Raptors,...

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