The AP reports: Hours after owner James Dolan introduced Donnie Walsh as New York’s new president of basketball operations, rookie Javaris Crittenton scored a season-high 23 points, Rudy Gay added 21, and the Memphis Grizzlies had their best offensive performance this season in a 130-114 victory Wednesday night over the Knicks… Michael Conley added 18 points, Juan Carlos Navarro had 16 and Mike Miller 15 as eight Grizzlies reached double figures… Zach Randolph led New York with 27 points, and Crawford added 24. David Lee had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Renaldo Balkman had 11.
Category: New York Knicks Blog
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Remove Isiah this summer
Now that the Knicks have named Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations, after the season the team needs to relieve Isiah Thomas of his head coaching responsibility. Clean house. Separate the old from the new.
Ironically, here’s a fun idea that won’t happen: Bring Larry Brown in to coach the team. But not the current team. Bring him in after a bunch of key guys have been traded — assuming deals get made, that is. Anyway, it’s safe to say Brown will never be involved with the Knicks again unless the team has new owners someday, and that doesn’t appear likely anytime soon.
I like the idea of bringing Mark Jackson in as a member of the coaching staff, but he should get assistant coaching experience before being given a head coaching job.
Whatever happens, Isiah just has to go. There was no evidence of a good coaching job done this season. None. The team barely seemed to run any plays, and what few players looked decent last season all seemed to regress. I say scrap the entire coaching staff and bring in an entirely new crew.
How about an experienced, veteran head coach, experienced assistants, and then Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson rounding out the staff?
Read the InsideHoops NBA Rumors page daily (as you should be doing already), and keep your eye on our site’s front page, for ideas about possible next coaches and much more.
Walsh needs to rebuild Knicks from scratch
Donnie Walsh is a good hire to control the Knicks. But the big question is if he’ll be allowed to truly rebuild the team from scratch, or if he’s going to continue the Isiah Thomas (and Scott Layden) tradition of just building upon something that doesn’t work.
It seems like the Knicks, for years now, only cared about trying to make the playoffs, and never even really tried to build a team that had a real shot at winning a championship. That they failed to even be decent is almost another story.
The Knicks need to clear house. In today’s press conference introducing Donnie Walsh as the new Knicks president of basketball operations, it was said the Knicks want to stay competitive but gain salary cap flexibility. That’s the wrong move. Don’t worry about staying competitive right away. (Wait, wasn’t the team trying to be competitive this season?) Clear house. Get almost everyone out. Start from scratch.
The Knicks need to try to do what the Seattle Sonics did. After realizing what they had wasn’t working, the Sonics got rid of everyone, managed to draft Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, won almost no games (yet just a few less than the current Knicks have) and have amazing salary cap flexibility for the future. Of course, while the Sonics may be leaving Seattle, the Knicks are firmly planted in New York City, a town that is a great selling point for superstars looking to rule the world in the future.
Removing Isiah from power is a step in the right direction. But let’s see if Walsh just keeps doing what Isiah was doing or does what he needs to do, begin a true rebuilding process that should see the majority of the team’s current players find a new home in the next season or two.
Larry Bird wishes Walsh good luck in NY
The Knicks today named Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations. Walsh just spent 25 years with the Indiana Pacers. Here’s a statement from Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:
“The Indiana Pacers offer Donnie Walsh congratulations and wish him good luck in his new position. The Knicks have a good man whose dedication to his job is unmatched. I have learned a great deal from Donnie and he’s not only a role model but a great friend. Given time, there’s no doubt in my mind Donnie will bring success to the Knicks much like he did with the Pacers. On behalf of the entire Pacers organization, we wish him the best of luck.”
Donnie Walsh takes over Knicks
James L. Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden and president and chief executive officer of Cablevision Systems Corporation, today announced that Donnie Walsh has been named president, basketball operations of the New York Knickerbockers, in charge of all basketball operations. Both Mr. Walsh and Steve Mills, president and chief operating officer of MSG Sports, will report directly to Mr. Dolan.
Full news announcement is here.
The big question here is if Knicks ownership will really let Walsh truly rebuild the squad from scratch, like they needed to do for years now. What Isiah Thomas kept trying to do is build upon something that wasn’t working, instead of tearing it down from scratch. Walsh needs to ship almost all the current players out as quickly as possible, and that could take quite a while — like, a full season or two, or more. And he needs to finally clear salary cap space and attempt to build a real team with legitimate championship hopes, instead of one that just hopes to reach the playoffs.
Apr. 1: Bucks 119, Knicks 115
The AP reports: Bobby Simmons scored a season-high 24 points and Michael Redd added 36 in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 119-115 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday… Andrew Bogut, who missed the last two games because of a broken nose, chipped in with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee… New York’s Quentin Richardson scored 22 points and Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford each added 19. The Knicks lost their fifth straight road game and are 2-15 in their last 17 games.
Mar. 30: Hawks 114, Knicks 109
The AP reports: Marvin Williams scored 27 points and Joe Johnson had 23 to help the Atlanta Hawks win their third straight, 114-109 over the New York Knicks on Sunday… Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 39 points—19 coming in the third quarter—but he was just 2-for-5 from the field in the fourth before his meaningless layup ended the scoring… Johnson, who had a season-high 13 assists, caught Al Horford’s pass from the right wing and laid in a short turnaround for a 105-94 lead with 3:42 remaining… David Lee finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Mar. 28: Raptors 103, Knicks 95
The AP reports: After months of inevitability, the New York Knicks made it official, dropping out of playoff contention Friday night by losing to the Toronto Raptors. Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Rasho Nesterovic added 18 points, and the Raptors beat the Knicks 103-95… Anthony Parker scored 15 for the Raptors, who won their second in a row after losing 11 of their previous 14… Starting for the second straight game, Toronto guard T.J. Ford finished with 10 points and nine assists… Jamal Crawford scored 26 and Jared Jeffries had a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won just two of 15. Quentin Richardson added 20 points and 10 rebounds while David Lee had 15 and 12 for New York.
Mar. 26: Knicks 103, Heat 96
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, including the go-ahead jumper with about 2 1/2 minutes left in overtime, and the New York Knicks ended their longest home losing streak in nearly 45 years by beating the Miami Heat 103-96 on Wednesday night… Zach Randolph had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Lee added 15 points and 16 boards for the Knicks, who had dropped a franchise record-tying seven in a row at home for the first time since Nov. 26-Dec. 17, 1963. Rookie Wilson Chandler had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost five straight overall and 12 of 13… New York outrebounded Miami 69-42… Miami, without Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and almost every other recognizable player on its roster, got 21 points from Daequan Cook and 14 from Kasib Powell, who was called up on Saturday.
Mar. 24: Nets 106, Knicks 91
The AP reports: The New Jersey Nets avoided what could’ve been a humiliating sweep, and managed to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race for one more day. Vince Carter scored 27 points, Richard Jefferson added 26 and the Nets moved within one game of the final playoff spot in the conference with a 106-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night. The Nets also defeated their cross-Hudson rivals for the first time this season after three losses… Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 26 points, while Zach Randolph had 17 in his return to New York’s starting lineup. Lee finished with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Wilson Chandler added 12 points for the Knicks.