Former Knicks president Donnie Walsh will be in a familiar perch today at the Garden where he is expected to hold court with the New York media before his Pacers face the Knicks in a noon tipoff.
The Bronx-born Walsh’s willingness to engage the media is one of the reasons he fell out of favor with eccentric owner James Dolan. Walsh spoke before almost every Knicks game at the Garden, in a familiar second-row seat by the once historic tunnel that has since been razed by Dolan’s arena transformation.
Walsh’s successor, Glen Grunwald, has followed Dolan’s wishes in being inaccessible to the media and shutting out Knicks fans who would like to hear from the chief. Grunwald hasn’t spoken since Media Day Oct. 1 — except for a brief comment to The Post extolling Mike D’Antoni’s hire with the Lakers.
Walsh, who had hip surgery during the 2009-10 season, still uses a cane. He declined a contract extension in 2010 because he didn’t feel comfortable with the contract language regarding personnel decisions, The Post reported.
Walsh can take a lot of credit for the Knicks being viewed as title contenders after a 6-1 renaissance this season. In his four-year stint, Walsh got them well under the salary cap to allow significant signings such as Amar’e Stoudemire, who paved the way for a flexible payroll that enabled them to execute the Carmelo Anthony sign-and-trade and sign Tyson Chandler.
As one NBA executive said, “Donnie did the dirty work and Glen reaped some of the rewards.’’
Actually, Grunwald’s work in adding depth and the right veterans to core stars should put him in line for Executive of the Year. Walsh returned to the Pacers after last season when Larry Bird retired, as he remains close friends with owner Herb Simon. But highly regarded Indiana is off to a 4-6 start.
* Also returning to the Big Apple is former Lincoln superstar Lance Stephenson, the Brooklyn-native finally making hay in his third season.
Stephenson, benefiting from Danny Granger’s injury, is starting and averaging 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 45.8 percent shooting. He has played just 54 games in his first two seasons, but sources say Stephenson worked diligently over the summer and had a solid summer league.
“The problem with the Pacers is he’s actually been their best player,’’ one NBA scout quipped.