There’s not much in the sports world that could happen outside the boundaries of play that could excite fans like a sale of the New York Knicks.

Whether deserved or not, Knicks fans blame the plight of New York’s team on James Dolan, who as executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Co. , and its majority owner, has final say on the team’s direction.

Also read:In the NBA, teams don’t have to be good to make a lot of money

But what if Dolan sold the Knicks? BTIG analyst Brandon Ross thinks it’s possible.

“Following the sale of the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion, we would not be surprised to see the Dolan family consider a sale of the Knicks and/or the Rangers,” Ross wrote in a blog post to investors on Monday.

Madison Square Garden US:MSG shares rose 1.8% on Monday. The speculation isn’t entirely new — this year, shares of Madison Square Garden are up 30%, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.11% is up close to 11%.

The Dolan family has long capitalized on the significantly profitable cable bundle. They control both the Knicks and the television station which shows most of their games, MSG Networks.

As the bundle disappears or otherwise morphs into something else, however, they have been unwinding ties to the legacy TV bundle.

In 2015 MSG Networks Inc. MSGN, +1.03% was split off from Madison Square Garden Co., a move Ross believes was made to monetize the networks and shift focus onto MSG’s live entertainment business. That year Dolan also sold Cablevision to French broadcaster Altice ATUS, -1.42% .

See:Madison Square Garden buys majority stake in TAO Group for $181 million

Also:Madison Square Garden buys controlling interest in music festival producer Boston calling

Now there’s a belief the Dolan family is looking to sell MSG Networks.

All of this to note, the Dolans have recognized the decline of the traditional TV bundle, and thus the potential decline in the valuation of sports content.

“Today’s monetization system, the one we’ve had over the last 20 years... Where 90 something percent of the American public who has television pays for ESPN whether they watch ESPN or not, right?” Dolan said during a future of sports content panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. “All of that advertising, if that system falls apart, which it looks like it is starting to erode now, it will not even come close to that kind of production of rights value and that’s really the thing we will all have to grapple with.”

NBA, Take-Two to Create Professional Videogame League

Basically, as the bundle declines, the dollars paid out to owners of sports rights declines, and thus teams’ revenue declines. But a lot hinges on how much new digital entrants, like Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.78% and Facebook Inc. FB, -0.89% , are willing to pay for sports content.

Check out:Here’s how much Americans spend on sports, in one chart

There is a clear disconnect between the direction of valuations of sports teams and the valuations of their current distribution partners, according to Ross. But maybe most importantly, there is also a scarcity value attached to sports teams — especially ones in New York.

“Given Dolan’s views, we would think he would have to consider at least partially monetizing MSG’s sports interests (even with the Knicks at a competitive lull), if not now than in the near- to medium-term,” Ross wrote. “The largest dollar upside would clearly come from selling all or part of the Knicks.

“Is it conceivable that the Knicks alone could fetch over $4 billion? The current value of all of MSG is about $4 billion.” Earlier this year, Forbes tagged the Knicks’ worth at $3.3 billion.

Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and private equity investor Wes Edens, told TMZ in August she wanted to buy her hometown Knicks one day. Mallory Edens is still in college and there’s no telling how serious she was about a desire to buy the Knicks, but it sparked a slew of pieces discussing whether or not the Knicks could be, or should be up for sale.

Read:Disney’s plan for ESPN is shrouded in uncertainty

Also see:As the NFL season begins, will #BoycottNFL and #NFLBlackout hurt its bottom line?

If a sale isn’t on the table, Ross believes it makes sense for the Dolan family to at least separate their sports teams from the rest of the business.