Donnie Walsh looking for a job in NBA; All set to part ways with the New York Knicks
Donnie Walsh is believed to have been given the green light by the New York Knicks owners to start talking to different teams regarding a job next season. Walsh, aged 71, is currently a consultant for the New York Knicks.
Walsh has been a professional NBA coach, having coached the Denver Nuggets during the 1979 season. He was later made the General Manager of the Indiana Pacers. He was the one who decided to pick Reggie Miller in the NBA draft instead
of native Indiana University player Steve Alford. The decision proved to be the right one as Reggie went on to have an illustrious career with the Indiana Pacers, guiding them into the playoffs on numerous occasions.
Donnie was later made the CEO and President of the Indiana Pacers and held that position until 2008, when he was made President of Operations of the New York Knicks. He was the man who signed Amare Stoudemire and then brought in
Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to New York and at the same time helped the franchise minimize the damage Isaiah Thomas had done before him.
Walsh’s contract with the New York Knicks expires on June 30th and he has made it clear that he is not looking to retire any time soon.
“Donnie’s very interested in continuing to work on a full-time basis,” said Steve Kauffman, who is the agent of Walsh.
It is expected that Walsh may go back to his old building. Pacers President Larry Bird might step down at the end of this season and if he does, many people are expecting another Walsh-Pacers reunion. In the Walsh era, the Pacers
reached the NBA playoffs in16 of the 17 seasons until the 2006-2007 season and the fact that the Pacers owner Herb Simon is an old friend of Walsh might add to the equation.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers are also looking for a new General Manager and Walsh may consider looking into that option in more detail.
What Walsh at the Pacers was magic, but many believe his greatest work was with the New York Knicks, who had a very expensive roster built up when he got there. Walsh started by trading Mardy Collins and Zach Randolph, which gave
him enough money to buy any one from the free agent class of 2010, which included players such as LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire.
Walsh signed Amare to New York for a reportedly $100 million five year contract. Then in the 2010-11 NBA season, he pulled the strings in a block buster trade that landed Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups at New York.
With the amount of experience that Walsh commands, he will be an asset for any team in the NBA. Come summer, when he goes job hunting, there will be many teams waiting to sign him as their President and chief of operations.
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