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Power Lunch

Here's how Elizabeth Warren could fix the Knicks

Senator Elizabeth Warren
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren may be considering a run for the White House in 2020, but there's another job she could be well-suited for: general manager of the New York Knicks.

In an interview this week, Warren told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer, "you need CEOs and top executives who are incentivized not just to think in the next quarter, but to think longer arc about how this business works."

Professional sports teams face a lot of heat from fans, and when you combine that with being a public company, the pressure to "win now" is very intense.

Madison Square Garden, which owns both the Knicks and the Rangers, reported fourth-quarter results (the time period including the NHL and NBA playoffs) saying "MSG Sports revenues of $132.5 million decreased 26 percent. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to the absence of playoff-related revenues."

So, the pressure is there to make the playoffs and keep those playoff-related revenues rolling in. But that may not be the best thing for the company, the shareholders and the fans in the long term.

Shouldn't dismiss Sen. Warren’s ideas as bad for companies
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Shouldn't dismiss Sen. Warren’s ideas as bad for companies

In recent years the Knicks have acquired big names and big contracts, including Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Joakim Noah.

But that hasn't worked. The Knicks have not won the NBA title since 1973 and haven't brought in playoff-related revenues in five years.

Meanwhile, just down the New Jersey Turnpike, the Philadelphia 76ers finished last or next to last in the Eastern Conference for four straight years but used that time to get top draft picks and accumulate young players in an organizational philosophy known as "The Process."

And now the Sixers are considered one of the up-and-coming teams in the NBA. Will the Knicks follow their — and Warren's — model? And if they do, will fans and shareholders have enough patience?

We'll have to wait to find out.