Posts tagged DonnieWalsh at FanHouse

If losing Elton Brand in free agency constitutes a gash to the Clippers fan's heart, does learning (from a possibly dubious rumor) that your team seeks to replace Big E.B. with Zach Randolph feel like the world's largest salt shaker is being poured into your wound? From SI.com's Ian Thomsen:

The Clippers, seeking to replace the departed Elton Brand, were trying to take Randolph off the Knicks' hands while offering little more than cap relief to New York, the sources said. Randolph will make $14.7 million next season, and he has three years and $48 million left on his contract.

Thomsen reports -- and Newsday's Alan Hahn "confirms" -- the Knicks rejected the deal (?!?!) because they want more than cap space (?!?!) in a Z-Bo trade.

So which team is more stupid? The Clippers should exhaust every Josh Smith Avenue and Emeka Okafor Boulevard before even considering bringing in the mass of mess that is Z-Bo's contract. (That mess, for those of you scoring at home: $14.7 million next season, $16 million in 2009-10, $17.3 million in 2010-11.) Meanwhile, conventional wisdom had the Knicks begging teams to take Randolph, and plausibly tossing in one of their rare prospects to sweeten the pot. According to common sense, the Knicks should only be after cap space and really cheap players (or picks) at this point.

I'm having trouble finding a possible package L.A. could offer that the Knicks shouldn't accept. And there is no package the Clippers should find acceptable as an exchange for Z-Bo's grotesque existence. At least Clippers fans can count their lucky (ha!) stars that Donnie Walsh has gone nuts.

You have to feel a little sorry for Stephon Marbury. Not only is today the day that Steve & Barry's, the company that produces his signature shoe line, expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but it's also the day that Chris Duhon, the man Donnie Walsh recruited to replace him in the starting lineup, can officially sign with the Knicks.

But while losing his biggest endorsement and (most likely) his starting gig has to sting, at least he can go to bed at night sleeping on a pile of money. He's set to make $21 million this year, the final year of his contract, and there's a good chance he won't have to do anything to earn it. While he's still going through the motions of preparing to play for the Knicks this year, no one on the team actually expects that he'll be around come the start of the season. From Alah Hahn of Newsday:

Most of the Knicks players aren't expecting Marbury to be there, despite his reported plans to come to Las Vegas this weekend to participate in voluntary workouts with other Knicks veterans while the team prepares for the NBA Summer League opener Monday. Marbury's effort to show up in Vegas is viewed by some teammates as a ploy, not a sincere effort.

"He's trying to show he's still dedicated," said one Knicks player, who asked not to be identified. "Come on, man, your teammates know. We see it every year."

Patrick Ewing is considered one of the most popular New York Knicks of all time. He is also a coach on a professional basketball team. You would think, then, that he might get a shot at some sort of coaching position with the 'Bockers should spots in the staff clear out. They did, and he did not.

So, uh, what gives Donnie Walsh? You know, since you never told him the first time around.

Ewing, head coach of Orlando's summer-league team, said he spoke with Knicks President Donnie Walsh during the predraft camp in Orlando.

"Donnie just said why I didn't get an interview [with the Knicks] was because we [the Magic] were in the playoffs," Ewing said.

Asked why the Knicks couldn't wait until Orlando's postseason ended, Ewing said, laughing, "I don't know. That's what I was told."

Right. That's like saying that you never called a girl you met because your cellphone. (Read: Come up with a better fib.) Ewing did not get the call because, as Ziller has previously mentioned, he likes to chat it up with dancers before the game instead of preparing his players.

So, it's not a real knock on Walsh for using that excuse, but a simple "I wanted to let Mike fill out his own staff, Pat" would have sufficed.

One Marc Berman story on the Knicks' rebuilding plan, annotated:

"Other young free-agent point guards available for mid-level money are Chris Duhon, Brooklyn's Sebastian Telfair, Keyon Dooling and Tyronn Lue."

Dooling is 28 years old, and Lue just turned 31. Not exactly NBA youngsters.

"The Bulls, who desperately tried to get David Lee in the Eddy Curry deal three years ago, are also expected to shop Kurt Heinrich and restricted free agent Ben Gordon."

I hear this Kurt Heinrich fellow could be a real catch. Much better than that Kirk Hinrich guy.

Those mistakes are cosmetic, sure. But when Berman then tosses a theory like this at the wall, you give a little less credence, yeah?

Golden State's Monta Ellis is a wonderful point-guard-of-the-future candidate but that has to be a sign-and-trade scenario because Warriors general manager Chris Mullin would match a two-year deal. Walsh and Mullin are close, making a transaction doable.

Ay ay ay. Ellis would not sign a two-year deal with the Knicks or anyone, not when teams would line up around the block to give him a five-year deal. And Mullin isn't going to hand his "wonderful point-guard-of-the-future" over to the Knicks just because Donnie was nice to him in Indianapolis in the '90s. I understand contrasting the Walsh regime with the Isiah Thomas Reign of Terror, but at some point the nonsensical Pollyanna theorizing becomes a farce, yeah?

The buzz out of Charlotte is all about D.J. Augustin. And how could it not be? The Bobcats passed over Brook Lopez, a.k.a. the scoring big man they need to move Emeka Okafor to the four, in favor of Texas' point guard. And they did this when, in theory, they already have the point guard of the future, Raymond Felton.

But obviously, Larry Brown does not care for Felton. I am making that conclusion based on a) the drafting of Augustin, b) Brown getting on national television and saying (paraphrase) that a strong connection to your point guard is absolutely necessary for success and c) my amazing ability to connect dots.

Now, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer is saying that, with very few exceptions, anyone on the roster is fair game to be moved around.

The Bobcats were in serious discussions with the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped [Gerald] Wallace for T.J. Ford. It didn't happen, but that's the clearest indication yet how active the Bobcats are in seeing what their players might bring in trade.

I assure you Wallace isn't alone. Raymond Felton could be moved, and so could just about anyone else with perhaps the exception of Jason Richardson.

That shouldn't be surprising, and Richardson is only off limits because of his contract. What is shocking is how quickly Michael Jordan, Brown and Co have given up on Felton (all three Carolina grads) given they spent a high lottery pick on him just a few years ago.

It probably makes sense to ignore the Knicks faithful within Madison Square Garden on NBA Draft night -- I seem to remember some misplaced giddiness last year. But Donnie Walsh might be taking the idea too far if this rumor from Howard Beck of the New York Times has heat:

According to executives with two teams, the Knicks are discussing a swap of first-round picks with Portland. The Knicks would send the No. 6 pick, forward David Lee and another player to the Trail Blazers for the 13th and 27th picks and a player, possibly Steve Blake or Jarrett Jack.

Just imagine the outpouring of love when David Stern announces the Knicks have traded the coveted #6 pick for a late-lottery and late-first ... and sent David Lee out of town in the process! I imagine it'd be far worse than the infamous reaction for the Renaldo Balkman, which you can see below at around the 55-second mark.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

It's almost sad that, with the NBA Draft in New York, we won't get to see Knicks fans freak out and boo whoever they take simply because Isiah Thomas is in charge. They still might boo, but it will likely be a force of habit thing rather than because they think Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni will screw this thing up. But to think that the Knicks will be a quick rebuild seems a bit too much to ask.

Picks: #6

Needs: They're gonna need a new point guard (Stephon Marbury "might" not use that option, but he's still gone sooner than later), they need a tough inside presence (Zach Randolph/Eddy Curry = notsomuch) and they need players that fit D'Antoni's system. Good thing they have so many picks.

Best case scenario: Jerryd Bayless falls into their laps at six, which is looking more and more likely as word seems to slip out that Seattle is interested in Russell Westbrook. On the other hand, there wouldn't be anything wrong with getting someone to take #6 and Zach Randolph (contract that lasts past the two year window they're clearly eying) in exchange for a move down the board.

More likely scenario: Zeke calls Donnie and offers him Marbury and the number six for Randolph. Things get awkward. Then, the Knicks take Bayless or Eric Gordon, depending on how the top five shakes out.

Welcome to a new intermittent NBA FanHouse feature. Peter Vescey of the New York Post throws more crap against the wall than any other ink-stained scribe (now that Sam Smith is a blogger). Vescey Watch is our way of keeping track of how many bad rumors he prints this summer.

Two more teams fell victim to the Offseason Blues this weekend, and our man Vescey knows exactly what will happen to one of them:

FAILING to crash The Finals for the third straight season is guaranteed to cost Pistons coach Flip Saunders a fourth try. ... On the "flip side," assistant Michael Curry - not Terry Porter, a leading candidate for the Suns' vacancy, or Dave Cowens - is certain to succeed Saunders.

At least P.V. backs the conventional wisdom on this one. He rejects at least part of it in his May 25 guarantees concerning the Knicks' draft plans.

I guarantee Donnie Walsh will not surrender his first rounder (No. 6, overall) for the express purpose of liquidating a loathsome contract, as certain hysterical media mopes hypothesize . . . and continue to be employed.

"Hysterical media mopes?" That has a nice ring ... maybe we should rename this feature.

Two days prior, The Viper addresses those pesky Carmelo Anthony rumors.

... [I]t's absurd to think the "Imperial" Anthony is available. Allen Iverson is a different story. On the final year of his deal, it's highly unlikely he'll get a stratospheric, long-term commitment from the Nuggets.

We'll see about that, Pete.

Well, that didn't take long. It was just a few months ago that the Knicks were the laughingstock of the entire league, but after hiring Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni, it sounds like they're quickly becoming a chic destination for free agents.

Alan Hahn of Newsday cites "a person with knowledge of the situation" who claims Baron Davis has made inquiries around the league, including with the Knicks, to gauge interest should he opt out and test free agency. Hahn also has "a league source" who tells the (shocking!) news that the Warriors' other guard, the uber-athletic Monta Ellis, would also enjoy playing in D'Antoni's system.

Could both Warriors end up trading the Bay Area for the Big Apple? Actually no, that would be just about impossible -- it's be an either/or scenario for New York, and that's if they're somehow able to dump enough salary to get into the hunt. Plus, Ellis is a restricted free agent, meaning the Warriors have the right to match any offer he receives, and if Davis walks, there's not an offer big enough that the Warriors wouldn't match.

If you think Bulls fans feel a little jilted by Mike D'Antoni, well, they're not the only ones. Both GM John Paxson and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf left their meetings with D'Antoni last week thinking their discussions were fruitful only to be surprised when D'Antoni agreed to the Knicks job. From K.C. Johnson in the Chicago Tribune:

"I'm disappointed in him," Reinsdorf said. "I don't know what else we could've done. He chose to go to New York knowing there was a good chance we would make him an offer. If he had really wanted to be in Chicago, he would've waited. Instead, he misled us. It's not the end of the world, but it is somewhat rude."

[...] "The second subject, I said if we need to get something done this weekend we shouldn't even bother talking because it will take longer than that," Reinsdorf said. "He said nothing had to be done over the weekend.

"I also said if this proceeds to where we want to make an offer, we don't deal with coach's agents. He said that's not a problem and that money wasn't the most important thing anyway. He said he wanted a job where he was going to be happiest. He said he didn't want to coach the Knicks."