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Not everyone wants James Dolan to sell the Knicks ... and if ya don't believe us, here's ex-NBA player Chris Copeland telling TMZ Sports he LOVES his old boss!!

... but Copeland's friend?? Not so much.

We shot the ex-NBAer outside Madeo over the weekend and asked straight-up what the Knicks need to do to get back to relevance.

Copeland's friend had a few suggestions -- which would've gotten him BANNED from MSG if he had said it at a game -- but the hooper shuts down any of that talk and praised the team owner.

"I love Dolan, Dolan's my guy," Copeland tells us. I love Dolan, love the Knicks."

It's been the trend to tell Dolan off at Knicks games recently -- but it comes with a price.

As we previously reported, fans have been getting 86'd from Knicks games or any other events being held at MSG for heckling him ... as we've seen with at least 2 different occasions in recent years.