Back off Jimmy: Dolan Must Leave Player Personnel Decisions to Donnie Walsh
It isn’t set in stone, but all signs point to a Donnie Walsh contract extension with the New York Knicks. If Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan had plans to relieve Walsh of his obligations as president of basketball operations, it would’ve happened by now—especially given Boston’s swift disposal of New York in the first round.
Since his arrival in the Big Apple in 2007, Walsh has been wheeling and dealing with the goal of turning the Knicks back into contenders. Walsh is the architect behind the blueprint to clean house and free enough cap space to acquire two maximum salary free agents.
We all know he restored hope to the Knicks faithful when he lured Amar’e Stoudemire away from Phoenix to become the nucleus of the future. However, the casual fan is probably not familiar with Walsh’s track record. Walsh is no stranger to building competitive franchises from the ground up.
Fresh on the scene as general manager of the Indiana Pacers, Walsh made the controversial selection of a lanky shooting guard out of UCLA with the 11th pick of the 1987 draft. New York fans, Spike Lee in particular, came to know Reggie Miller quite well as he terrorized Knicks teams throughout the 1990s.
By 1989, the Pacers were playoff bound and went on to make 16 postseason appearances over the next 17 seasons with Walsh presiding as president. This included a trip to the NBA Finals in 2000.
James Dolan has lain relatively low during Walsh’s tenure, allowing him to operate independently. But, Dolan has still managed to get under Walsh’s skin behind the scenes.
When the Denver Nuggets put Carmelo Anthony on the trade block, in so many words, Anthony said if he was to leave Denver, he favored the Knicks. Realizing Denver would demand too many valuable pieces in a midseason trade, Walsh preferred to wait the season out until Anthony became a free agent.
Walsh’s instincts told him that if Anthony truly had his heart set on New York, regardless of whether he had been traded to another team prior to the deadline, the wisest decision would be to hold off until summer and sign him to a max contract. In doing so, Walsh could avoid giving away budding stars like Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.
Feeling the pressure of the situation, Dolan couldn’t help himself and became involved in negotiations. Concerned as much about his soured status with fans as he was with reversing the luck of the franchise, Dolan engaged in direct conversation with Nuggets ownership to force a deal.
Although he didn’t whine to the media, Walsh clearly felt belittled and betrayed by Dolan. After all, what is the point of Walsh’s role within the organization if the owner has the authority to overrule him at his discretion?
To make matters worse, Dolan continues to consult with his right-hand man, Isiah Thomas. Whether it is talent scouting or baiting a high-profile free agent à la LeBron James, Dolan evidently trusts Thomas with personnel duties more than his paid employees.
Underhanded tactics like these have Walsh second-guessing if he is valued enough to remain with the Knicks. Dolan recently promised that he has no intentions to hire Thomas in any capacity, but this doesn’t mean he will cease to seek out his services.
If it wasn’t for NBA commissioner David Stern putting his foot down, Thomas would likely still be working for the Knicks in some capacity.
While I’m an advocate of the Carmelo Anthony trade, doing it Dolan’s way left the Knicks so depleted that immediate postseason success was hardly an option. When Chauncey Billups and Stoudemire went down, it was literally Carmelo Anthony versus the Boston Celtics, and New York’s lack of depth was fully exposed.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it makes you wonder whether the Knicks’ playoff destiny would’ve been different had they fielded their pre-trade deadline roster.
The 2011 playoffs proved that the Knicks have a long road ahead before they are an elite squad. This may or may not involve Chris Paul as the third and final superstar component. But in the meantime, Walsh will be focusing on obtaining a scrappy center and more reliable reserves.
Walsh clearly has his work cut out for him and does not need outside interference. When he was running the show for Indiana, their winning reputation was no coincidence. If he accomplishes what he sets out to with New York, the Knicks will again be a legitimate postseason threat.
If Isiah Thomas was in charge, God knows what kind of shambles they’d be in. Once Walsh signs on that dotted line reaffirming his allegiance to the Knicks, Dolan should consider himself very fortunate.
From that day forward, Dolan needs to leave the Knicks to Donnie Walsh and worry about what movies to feature on Cablevision’s pay-per-view channel instead.
