INDIANAPOLIS — Knicks president Donnie Walsh made his first road trip of the season beyond Newark yesterday, appearing at Conseco Field House, 25 minutes away from where he still has a home and his wife still lives.
With his future still uncertain for next season, Walsh, who had hip-replacement surgery in November, said speculation he could return to the Pacers in some role is rubbish. Pacers president Larry Bird said this weekend that the club making the playoffs has made him definitely want to return next season. Had it missed out, Bird may have not come back, he said.
“I’m angry about that,” Walsh said of a rumored second stint in Indiana. “There’s absolutely no truth to it. I never talked to [Pacers owner] Herb Simon or anybody else about it. To me, it’s something someone makes up.”
Walsh said he was happy to hear Bird was returning.
“I’m glad he’s coming back,” Walsh said. “He doesn’t need it. If it’s interfering with his lifestyle, I could see him saying: I’ll go to Florida and fish all day.”
Knicks owner James Dolan has until April 30 to exercise the final year on Walsh’s contract, but if that deadline passes, he can still bring Walsh back with a new deal. The Post reported it is up to Walsh if he wants to make a return. His relationship with Dolan has been portrayed as not very solid.
And there’s been speculation for weeks the Garden could look to John Calipari and Mark Warkentien as the next leaders of the franchise. Both Calipari and Warkentien, who was at last night’s game, are represented by CAA, which handles Carmelo Anthony’s and Chris Paul’s affairs.
“I don’t know nothing about that,” Walsh said. “Some of it is promotion by people who want to get in the press.”
Walsh gave no strong hints yesterday on whether he wants back.
“I’ve been doing it so long, I don’t want to say it’s a big part of my life,” Walsh said. “It’s not the truth. It’s just part of what you are. And I don’t want to end it until I’m done and happy with it.”
Part of the decision will be if he’s comfortable with the direction of the club, which has made the playoffs for the first time in seven years and will open next weekend in either Boston or Miami.
Perhaps it depends on how the club fares in the playoffs and how close he thinks the Knicks are to winning a title. He’s said he wants to leave when he feels the club is on a track for a title.
“Playoffs are the best way to find out where are we,” Walsh said. “Where are we really? What you don’t have will show up.”
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Pacers rookie Lance Stephenson, the former Lincoln star, was a DNP after getting demoted again by Pacers coach Frank Vogel yesterday for violating team rules.