N.Y. Knicks: Glen Grunwald Out, Steve Mills Back In - How George Steinbrennian

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

(Walton Street, Williamsburg)

NEW YORK KNICKS: The Heels At The Garden Go Round And Round.

There you go!  If life works in cycles, James Dolan is lapping the field.  History has taught him nothing.  His long list of failures as owner repeat themselves.  This is why I'm so down on the Knickerbockers.

I can understand, if only theoretically that is..., if Dolan felt as if Donnie Walsh was imposed upon him by Commissioner Stern, and that Walsh wasn't necessarily Jimmy's kind of guy.  Fine.  But the fact that Donnie Walsh recovered this organization after being reduced to rubble by the previous administration, and was then rewarded by being shoved in front of an oncoming train downstairs at Penn Station, and for what(?) - to replace him with lightweight Glen Grunwald(?) - is what got lost on me. 

If you really want to know how Dolan felt about Donnie Walsh, look no further than how the Carmelo Anthony deal went down.  For a decade plus, Dolan never ever came close to sticking his unlearned nose into Glen Sather's or Isiah Thomas' business.  At the same time he was facing direct competition or the first time via the Brooklyn Nets, Denver put Melo on the market, and Dolan didn't just step on Donnie's toes, he broke them with a nut cracker in order to acquire the Nuggets star forward.

Sather (still does) and Thomas enjoyed absolute reign over MSG's teams for as long as they lived, right up until the Anucha Brown Sanders debacle forced David Stern to effectively break up MSG's triumvirate led MSG cult, which include among the ranks, an albeit lesser known, Steve Mills.  He was right there, front and center for a decade, playing an equal part in the Fall of Knickerbocker.

I had no particular like for Glen Grunwald, but without knowing for sure why he is no longer the GM, the fact Steve Mills is back in the fold is ponderous to me.  We all know Isiah Thomas still has a key to the executive bathroom, and has never really gone away.  Mills had his fingerprints all over the decision to bring Zeke to the Knicks.  And now he's back for an encore.  Do you want more?  He's back as GM and President no less.  Happy days are here again.

Meanwhile, Glen Grunwald has been reassigned within the organization as an advisor.  Right - How George Steinbrennian, and absolutely ponderous!

All that aside, it appears as if Allan Houston will be taking on a larger role with the Knicks.  That's another conversation.



Mike.BTB