IN 14 months as Knicks president, Donnie Walsh’s claim to fame is erasing two bloated salaries belonging to Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford ($27.4M) from New York’s 2010 payroll, therefore giving the team roughly $34M in “additional” cap space to charm a couple collector items whose names escape me to forsake their franchises.
The operative word is additional. In all this time, not a single media mope (me, too) ever mentioned the Knicks already were $7M under the cap in 2010 when Walsh superseded Isiah Thomas.
I remain convinced the Knicks could’ve pressed for a playoff spot had the pair not been sent packing early on for Cuttino Mobley’s sick ticker and Al Harrington’s leading-man mentality, and Mike D’Antoni had done right by Stephon Marbury.
Still, there’s no depreciating the fact Walsh has excelled in unloading the majority of Thomas’ personnel monstrosities (the above, plus Jerome James, Malik Rose and Quentin Richardson — dispatched to the Grizzlies for Darko Milicic on the sixth anniversary of Milicic being drafted behind LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, David West, Kirk Hinrich, T.J. Ford, Kendrick Perkins, Josh Howard, Chris Kaman, Nick Collision, Boris Diaw, Luke Ridnour, Travis Outlaw, Leandro Barbosa and Michael Pietrus, to name 15).
In the face of bombing in Detroit, Orlando and Memphis, Milicic, to his credit, has outlasted the 2003 first-round picks of the Knicks and Nets — long gone Mike Sweetney and Zoran Planinic. That alone should be enough to assure him the first jump ball in 2009-10 and well beyond … unless Eddy Curry is deloused of laziness in the interim.
Again, Walsh’s forte is undeniably the disposal of bodies that rolled up on Thomas’ beachfront. Yet even if Curry arrives at training camp with his ribs showing, no opponent will so much as think about touching him until his contract ($11,276,863; 2010-11) is in its expiration stage.
So much for faintly praising Walsh. Anybody can put a franchise on hold for two years while LeJesus decides whether he wants to flat-leave the Cavaliers, who have never said no to anything he’s asked for (his words to me in late March) in owner Dan Gilbert’s spendthrift pursuit of a championship.
What Walsh has done in the meantime made 41 nights at the Garden scarcely bearable for beaten-down season-ticket holders and figure to stay that insufferable in spite of the surfacing of Milicic: He paid a coach $24M for four seasons based on a system that prospers when its conductor is an MVP maestro and orchestra is in unqualified harmony . . . sat still when D’Antoni commanded little if any defensive accountability and didn’t insist Nate Robinson, at the very least, act like a para-professional.
He signed a point guard who had his moments but whose body withered and whose bad habits continue.
He passed on Eric Gordon and Brook Lopez — despite Curry exceeding the calorie cap and not owning a defensive stance — and drafted the son of D’Antoni’s former Italian teammate, a 19-year-old with a recurrently ailing back.
He imported Harrington — allowed to stunt the growth of Wilson Chandler for far too long — Larry Hughes, who confirmed why coaches quickly lose patience with him, and under-utilized Chris Wilcox.
Then, last Thursday, Walsh whiffed on Brandon Jennings. Instead he selected Jordan Hill after failing to intercept the Warriors for Stephen Curry or vaguely tempt the Timberwolves to part with No. 5 — Ricky Rubio.
Talent scouts tell me Hill is solid and runs the floor well. In other words, he does what Wilcox does, only not as good, but definitely works cheaper; gotta save as much money for the following summer, even at the cost of Ws … and very possibly one of the team’s precious few assets in Lee, a restricted free agent midnight July 1.
Beautiful music to the ears of the Jazz, who own New York’s prime real estate in the 2010 draft.
Conversely, “God created Jennings for D’Antoni’s system … minus the jump shot that needs improvement.” That’s straight from a friend of mine who knows a little basketball and has seen the kid play no less than 100 times throughout high school/AAU.
“Every year he was the best guard in his class,” said a Western Conference GM who tried to obtain a second No. 1 to get him before the Bucks did at No. 10. “Then he went to Italy to play. You know how it works, out of sight, out of mind.”
“Brandon is a freak athlete with a superior feel for the game and unteachable passing ability. He flaunts Pistol Pete flair, Isiah Thomas toughness with a nasty streak to match, doesn’t take crap from anybody and always has the backs of teammates. Plus he loves New York. Used to come to the city to play at Rucker Playground and in other outdoor leagues. He would’ve reinvigorated the Garden.
“The Rubio-Pistol comparisons are comical,” my friend snapped. “What, just because both are white, play guard, and have floppy hair? Rubio averages nine a game in Europe. Maravich averaged 44 at LSU. It’s insulting to Pete and his legacy they’re being compared.”
Walsh has a markedly more acute sense of history to hazard that extreme. Still, there’s no doubt he’s madly infatuated with Rubio’s sight-for-sore-eyes repertoire. But don’t hold your breath in anticipation of David Kahn dealing his playmaking portrait for Chandler, or doing a sign-and-trade for Incri-Nate, or David Lee.
That one makes no sense at all. Minny Ha Ha’s frontcourt banks overflow with competence, predominantly macho forwards.
I’ve read what’s being implied — Kahn owes Walsh, that’s why he’ll come through for the Knicks. Walsh gave Kahn his NBA start in the Pacers front office. Walsh strongly recommended Kahn for the job as T’wolves president.
Also, Rubio, through agent Dan Fegan, is making a very real threat to play in Europe for the next season or two if his resolve to play in New York isn’t accommodated.
This merely seems like 16 tons of pressure. It’s actually weightless. No way does Kahn capitulate. I suspect he can conjure up a more subtle way to show his gratitude than repay Walsh with Rubio. That would be tantamount to sleeping with your ex-wife. That would be like begging to get fired.
Walsh has a better chance to acquire Steve Nash when he finally gets fed up with the shenanigans of the Suns, not to mention recruiting LeJesus.