Donnie Walsh: 10 Reasons His Contract Is Pivotal to New York Knicks Future

Currently in his third season as New York Knicks president of basketball operations, Walsh has done the impossible and has saved a Knicks franchise which was banished to the basement of the NBA after Isiah Thomas' tenure.

After catapulting them into the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, the team has shown enough potential to believe that with a few more alterations to the roster, it can contend with the most elite team's in the NBA at a chance of winning an NBA Championship.

Although it has not been an easy task, Walsh has the rare combination of patience and assertiveness which make him such an effective GM. He displayed patience by making small moves in order to clear cap space for the acclaimed free agency class of 2010, and then being assertive by inking Amar'e Stoudemire to a lucrative deal and not waiting on LeBron to make his, dare I say it, decision.

While many GMs would have waited on LeBron James to make his final choice of what team he was going to play for, Walsh had the experience to know that it was time to strike and acquire a big name player and that LeBron James was not the only option for them.

Although Amar'e Stoudemire's injury history is well-documented and it was a big risk, it was one he knew the team had to take in order to infuse hope back into the dejected fanbase of New York City. 

Only a year later he would land Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups who would get the team to the playoffs and more importantly give them hope that they can go even further in the future.

10. He Has a Wealth of Experience

The reason so many believe in Walsh is because of the job he did during his 24-year tenure with the Indiana Pacers.

During his time with the Pacers he has worked with some of the biggest names in game's history including Larry Bird, Larry Brown and the one Knicks fans have etched into their brains and cannot forget, due to his ineptitude to make the team successful as their General Manager, Isiah Thomas.

Over his 24 years with the Pacers, Walsh was very successful. Under his leadership, the Pacers won four Central Division Championships, made six trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, and climaxed Walsh’s tenure with the 2000 Eastern Conference Championship.

9. He Has a Good Relationship with the Media

While Walsh absolutely faced media in Indiana, it was nothing compared to what he would face in New York.

The media which he faces in New York reflects that of the city which it reports for. It is demanding, intrusive and never sleeps.

Walsh had a good relationship with the media in Indiana and has continued to have a good rapport with them in New York, even though the number of interviews has grown and the amount of media exposure has increased.

8. Mike D'Antoni Listens to Donnie Walsh and Repects Him

While it should be a given that a head coach listens to the direction of his team's general manager this had not always been the case with Mike D'Antoni.

Most famously, he refused Steve Kerr's advisement to hire Tom Thibodeau as his defensive assistant coach.

Since that time, Thibodeau has gone on to win an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 as their defensive assistant coach and was a key component in why the Celtics were so successful at containing proficient scorer Kobe Bryant, which led to them winning the series four games to two.

Most recently, he has been named NBA Coach of the Year as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and has many fans and analysts believing that the Bulls are capable of contending for an NBA Championship and possibly winning it this season.

It has recently surfaced in the media, that Walsh will force D'Antoni to hire a defensive assistant coach. Since the Knicks averaged giving up a total of 105.73 PPG to their opponents, it is about time the stubborn head coach listened to his superior.

7. Keeps Amare, Melo, and Billups Involved in the Ongoing Trade Talks

After being as successful as he has been during his tenure with the Pacers and Knicks, one would think that Walsh would become somewhat arrogant in his approach as his thought process is what made him so victorious, however this is not the case.

The reason he has flourished over the years is his ability to listen to others thoughts and ideas, and that includes the star players of whatever organization he is working with at the time.

Currently working with the Knicks, he has the foresight to realize that Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups all have something to offer that goes beyond the basketball court.

Since they are the nucleus which the team will be built around for the foreseeable future, he is wise enough to know that their input is extremely important in the players that will make up the rest of team to get them back to the top of the Eastern Conference again.

6. He Would Get to Continue What He Has Started in New York

Walsh has brought the Knicks back to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, and looks to build on that to make them a contender for an NBA Championship.

Since inheriting the disastrous mess of a team from Isiah Thomas, Walsh has been nothing short of a miracle worker bringing in Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups along with young complementary pieces like Toney Douglas and Landry Fields, who make up the team's core.

After being hired in 2008, Walsh has made all the right moves to bring the Knicks back to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. He deserves the full control of the team's basketball operations and should have his contract extended in order to complete the task at hand, which is bringing an NBA Championship to the city of New York. 

5. He Would Continue to Mentor Allan Houston

With Donnie's help Houston could one day become a Head General Manager himself. Whether it be with the Knicks or elsewhere.

Although Allan Houston has surely learned a lot about the pitfalls of being an NBA executive, he is not ready yet to become a head general manager.

Since he is close to James Dolan, it would also do him a lot of good to spend some more time under Walsh's tutelage in order to provide him with enough confidence to stand up to the owner.

Dolan's influence on Houston should be a worry to Knicks fans, considering the fact that Dolan tends to be more of a figurehead and is not all the knowledgeable as one might like him to be as the owner of a professional basketball team.

With that said, Houston will likely become an acclaimed NBA general manager, whether it be in New York or elsewhere. Working a bit longer with a seasoned executive like Walsh, will only help his development and understanding of basketball as an entertainment industry and a business.

4. He Has Connections Which Could Help the Knicks in the Future

During Walsh's time working in the NBA, he has worked with some of the most accomplished and famous names to have ever worked in the League.

On his list includes names like Larry Bird, Larry Brown, Chris Mullin and Kevin Pritchard and many others. Those connections could serve the Knicks well, whether it be while Walsh is employed with them or even after he or the team decides his tenure in New York is completed.

If Dolan is smart, he will allow Walsh to name his successor as he would likely appoint either Chris Mullin or maybe even Kevin Pritchard who both have previous experience as general managers.

Mullin with the Golden State Warriors and Pritchard who was responsible for turning around the Portland "Jail-Blazers" franchise and laying the foundation for them to become one of the most resilient teams in the NBA.

3. He Can Land the Knicks a Third Star

With Donnie Walsh's help this could become a reality.

Since Walsh's time in New York he has landed the Knicks Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

Even more importantly what he has done, is made New York an attractive landing spot for a third star, most likely Chris Paul, or maybe even the likes of Dwight Howard or Deron Williams if the two are willing to leave their respective teams.

The one thing that Walsh does not have control over however, will be what the structure of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is, with only a couple players under contract in 2012 though, the Knicks may be poised to strike at landing themselves another star to complement Amar'e and Melo which could push them over the top and make them a contender to win the coveted NBA Championship.

2. He Stands Up to James Dolan

While the two are all smiles in the picture, luckily for Knicks fans the two don't agree on everything, that agreement to disagree is most likely why Walsh's tenure with the Knicks has been so successful, since Dolan puts full trust in him to do what he feels is right.

As was previously mentioned, the thought process of James Dolan can be quite maddening as a Knicks fan or basketball fan in general.

After Isiah Thomas practically crippled his team financially and left the team with several untradeable contracts which Walsh has somehow eradicated off the books and banished from the team, Dolan still maintains a close friendship with Thomas.

Obviously Dolan would do best just to stay out of the way, since he inherited the team due to social status and no real display of basketball knowledge. Luckily for Knicks fans, Walsh's experience allows him to stand up to Dolan's questionable thinking, and he had to do so in the past year, when Dolan was trying to employ Isiah Thomas as a consultant to Walsh.

Walsh's reservation to return to the team has been due to this very issue. Walsh wants nothing to do with Isiah Thomas, since he knows all too well how quickly Thomas sank the Knicks franchise and failed as a head coach in Indiana.

For the sake of the franchise, it is best for Dolan to give Walsh full control of the team's basketball operations, while he stays out of the way and works on improving the sound of his rock band, "JD and the Straight Shot."

1. He Would Keep Isiah Thomas out of the General Manager Chair

For any die-hard Knicks fan, this is the most important thing Walsh does for the team. Seeing Isiah back in charge of things would be a nightmare. Although he was a legend as a player, he was completely ineffective as a General Manager.

As was mentioned in the previous slide, Isiah Thomas needs to be kept as far away as possible from any basketball decisions that are made by the Knicks front office.

While Isiah Thomas is named as one of the most legendary point guards of all time, his success as a player did not translate to the front office for him.

During his tenure in the front office (brace yourselves Knicks fans this might be painful to read) he accumulated some of the most overweight players in the NBA while he headed basketball operations.

The Jenny Craig All-Stars most notably include: Jerome James, Jackie Butler, Othella Harrington, Clarence Weatherspoon, Mike Sweetney, Eddy Curry and, probably the one exception who has actually become successful, Zach Randolph.

While there are most certainly more players who Isiah truly believed would work well together for the Knicks, I will not put Knicks fans through the pain of listing them all.

The point of the whole article is simple, without Donnie Walsh the team does not climb out of the black hole which Isiah Thomas shunned them too, and they probably remain as one of the worst teams in the league, in a city that deserves much better.

If Dolan makes one correct decision as the owner of the Knicks franchise, it should be to extend Walsh's contract and relinquish full control of the team's basketball operations, as Walsh's track record proves that he is more than capable of taking the Knicks back to the top.