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

N.Y. KNICKS ~ Dolan Shows David Stern's Guy The Door

NEW YORK KNICKS:  James Dolan Never Wanted David Stern's Henchman In The First Place.


Way back when, I did not at all criticize hiring Isiah Thomas.   The Patrick Ewing era had ended and the Knicks were gladly moving on under Zeke after having suffered through Scott Layden.   I think I remember most Knicks' fans looking forward to the changes Isiah Thomas would no doubt initiate.   Back then, that was all fine and well and not what this big point is all about.  


But since the day Donnie Walsh assumed his position with the Knicks, James Dolan has done everything an owner can do to step on another executive's toes.  Now Dolan finally got what he wanted all along; which is Donnie Walsh; David Stern's henchman; gone.


Thanks for rebuilding my organization I let Isiah Thomas destroy.  Now beat it!





Welcome To MADISON SCARE GARDEN;  The World's Most MEDIEVAL Arena!

Knick fans, say good-bye to the former GM "slash!" President, James Dolan never wanted in the first place. 


Once upon a time, the atmosphere inside Madison Scare Garden had become so polluted and wreaked of hot garbage that when Commissioner Stern caught a whiff of the sexual harassment lawsuit against Isiah Thomas and MSG, David Stern decided his New York franchise had fallen to an all-time low and instigated the replacement of Isiah Thomas with Donnie Walsh.


When you're the most powerful Commissioner in North American Sports, you get what you want.   And so, the Knicks (namely James Dolan) got Donnie Walsh.   But behind the scenes, the Knickerbockers (namely James Dolan) never got rid of Isiah Thomas entirely.  Dolan allowed Zeke to lurk in the shadows.  Now if you're James Dolan and you're favorite Teddy Bear just got taken away from you, how do you covertly take out your frustrations and seek revenge on your oppressor?   Answer - Corporate Passive Aggression.


And James Dolan, in his actions, insulted Donnie Walsh at every turn.


When Isiah Thomas was MSG's one man gang and running this franchise into the ground, his boss, James Dolan, never even so much as said Boo!  Isiah had Card Blanche.  And James Dolan blindly and loyally believed/believes everything Isiah said/says.  James Dolan assumed operating control of his Daddy's Knicks in 1999.  Once he settled on Isiah Thomas to run his operation, James Dolan pretty much disappeared from the picture, minus the time when Latrell Sprewell.....  ahhhh.  Why bother.


Dolan made one huge splash, albeit an inconspicuous public protest under the guise of MSG to block and successfully drown any chance of the West Side Stadium from being built along the Hudson River on top of the West Side Rail Yards.  That was James Dolan the entertainment mogul and capitalist protecting his business interests.  That's fair.


Other than that, and up until the sexual harassment suit brought against him, Isiah Thomas, and MSG, we never ever heard from James Dolan.  And never once did he inject himself, or intercede in Isiah Thomas' affairs as President and GM of the Knicks.  Committing the Knicks to Salary Cap high holy hell, and not to mention letting Stephon Marbury run amok, meant little if nothing to James Dolan.  Isiah Thomas was free of interference from his superiors.  For Dolan, business was still good.


But the person James Dolan trusted most; Isiah Thomas; was taken away from him by the big bad Commissioner.  And, it couldn't have come at a more worse time for James Dolan and MSG.  Up until now (in relative time) everything was fine at MSG as far as James Dolan the Capitalist was concerned.  MSG was always packed no matter the incremental destruction Zeke wrought on his team.


So why is the taking of Zeke away from Dolan at this particular junction in Knicks history so bad as I say?  It has everything to do with the Nets and their move to Brooklyn.


James Dolan the Capitalist is scrambling to fortify his defenses because he knows Mikhail Prokhorov means business.  And the closer the official move date to Brooklyn comes for the Nets, the more erratic James Dolan has become leading up to right now.  Fallout? - The scripted stepping down of a one, Donnie Walsh.


Fighting the West Side Stadium was a natural for Dolan as a business man.  But now with one of his Entertainment Empire's Jewels; MSG and the Knicks; in direct threat of competition from the Nets in Brooklyn, James Dolan finds himself fighting a two front battle against business and basketball.


For evidence that James Dolan the businessman knows how to fight a good business fight any time, anywhere, look no further than the notorious Battle of the Billboards.  That's good stuff right there.  James can fight that fight.  But when his Basketball enterprise is topic one, he always has, as he still does, run to Isiah Thomas for direction.


I'm not so sure Isiah Thomas would have been allowed to mismanage the Knicks much longer had Commissioner Stern not insisted on the change as the Nets move to Brooklyn drew closer.  James Dolan might have made a move for that very reason IF Zeke didn't have things turned around by "now"...  We are three years after David Stern saved the Knicks and their fans from Zeke AND Dolan.  And now the reality for James Dolan and the Nets in Brooklyn is officially one more season away, once the Finals conclude this month.


So when it comes to Donnie Walsh, James Dolan Did This:

* Originally wanted to retain and pay Isiah Thomas to be a team/personal consultant to James Dolan.

* Pure speculation?  Sure!  Dolan is convinced Zeke would have landed LeBron James and blames Donnie.

* Tripped all over his own Capitalist hooves in a free-agent signing frenzy trying to secure players before Mikhail Prokhorov did.  Stepped all over Donnie's toes and involved Isiah Thomas in their attempt to sign Amare Stoudemire.

* Tripped all over his own Capitalist hooves in a trading deadline frenzy trying to secure Carmelo Anthony before Mikhail Prokhorov did.  Stepped all over Donnie's toes and INVOLVED Isiah Thomas, whether directly or indirectly, in their attempt to secure Melo from Denver.  Dolan would have given Denver more had they just asked.  Walsh never had a chance to ply his negotiating craft.

* Did not allow Donnie Walsh to hire Chris Mullin on two separate requests.  James Dolan tells Walsh he'd rather re-hire Isiah Thomas instead.  The two have a concentrated disagreement over the matter.

* James Dolan concluded the Melo Trade Press Conf. by stating Donnie Walsh's contract extension would be settled in very time.  But no press conf. would have; could have; ended without at least one more mention of Isiah Thomas.



I say again, in all the years Isiah Thomas ran the Knicks, James Dolan said and did nothing to Isiah Thomas regarding the state of the Knicks.  That's when New York City was still a one team town.  If you don't think Brooklyn will have an impact on James Dolan's enterprise, you are mistaken then.  James Dolan is in full panic mode and is making his fan base pay for the renovations to keep up with the Jone's....er, Mikhail Prokhorov and Barclays Center.


Because James Dolan knew he needed those two stars badly, he practically beat down Donnie Walsh on his way to snag Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  And the Melo deal epitomizes my whole point.  Dolan didn't allow Donnie Walsh to negotiate a more responsible price for Melo.  But that's because James Dolan, like many execs in the NBA, is subscribing to the Two/Three Star Method, and are distancing themselves from team oriented Basketball at light speed.


Due to the plethora of players given to Denver for Melo, the Knicks were left with a roster barren of capable cagers after the third name down the list.  But James Dolan doesn't care that Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are incompatible players or that his bench sucks.  He just cares that he has stars.  After all, he is a Media Mogul.  He knows star power and the draw they have.


The best hands this organization have been in since the days when Dave Checketts roamed the hallways of what will soon be the "Newer MSG" are now waving good-bye to the fans as he says Good Luck to us on the way out.  Because we'll need it.


If they were building a baseball only stadium in Brooklyn, do you think James Dolan would have cared?  No, he wouldn't have.  And as a result, maybe his renovation of MSG may have come farther down the line.  You know what they say; - Necessity is the Mother of all Invention.


With the NBA sporting a second team within the borders of New York City, and not just the "Metro Area" anymore, James Dolan is scrambling.  As such, he didn't let his GM do his job to the best of his ability.  Dolan never wanted Walsh, thus he never trusted him.  James Dolan continually ran back or phoned Zeke.


In spite of all Dolan's panicing because the Nets are coming, Donnie Walsh still managed to straighten out James Dolan's Basketball operation.  And this is the thanks he gets.


Donnie Walsh never had a chance.  James Dolan just wants his teddy bear back.  He did to Donnie Walsh like what the Yankees did to Joe Torre.  They insulted and made him feel unwanted enough to make him want to leave.



What comes next for the Knicks is anybody's guess.  A safe bet to take is the Knicks' near future involves a Yes Man.



To that I say,  "Oh No!"





Mike.BTB

NYKnicks ~ Zeke May Never Haunt Halls of MSG Again; Link

Every Basketball minded fan around the city has by now, no doubt, heard about Isiah Thomas' fantastic revisionist tales and the buff-job he's trying to spin about his days at MSG.  What sheer lunacy!  Many in and around the media have been tossing out the word delusional to describe Zeke's state of mind.  Michael Kay conducted an interview with Isiah on the heals of the initial shock waves Isiah's comments created soon after speaking with Ian O'Conner earlier for Ian's ESPN.com.  Point ~ Michael Kay was right when he said delusional was the absolute wrong word to describe Zeke's state.

Me?  I'd use Machiavellian; as Machiavellian as he's ever been and exactly the way we remember him.

Delusional?  Hardly.  Zeke was, as always, just being true to himself.  I heard nothing during Michael Kay's interview nor read anything in Ian O'Connor's transcript which leads me to believe Isiah Thomas was acting unlike anyone but, Isiah Thomas.  You can read Ian O'Connor's article HERE.

This day, his tact of choice was that of victim trying to vindicate his good name, playing on people's sympathies to again one day be in a position to avenge a wrong perpetrated upon him by the NBA; namely mocking his executive achievements and stripping him of his post.  What makes this day from left field any different from any post-game Q&A he played host to while he was Sith Lord of MSG?  He took responsibility for nothing 'wrong' then, and paints pictures of the past resembling a Botticelli now.

Above all, what has Knick fan's anxieties on high alert today, is the closeness, bond and friendship Isiah Thomas maintains with Sir James Dolan; Rey of MSG and our New York Knicks.

Donnie Walsh might be calling the shots now but we learned and know well, Zeke never really went away.  The scepter of his possible return has been making the hair of Knicks fans stand up from Coney Island to City Island, electrocuted and shocked that Zeke still, somehow, arches into our affairs in the third year after his removal from office.

Well I have good news for you Knick fans.  Please read this great article by Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports.  This article might, once and for all time, put our fears to rest regarding Zeke's MSG Come-back and possible Swan Song at the New Garden.

If what this article says is true, there will be no Rising like the Phoenix for Isiah.  In the mean-time there is only lunacy..., just like in Hitchcock's, The Birds.





Mike.BTB

NYKnicks, Pull-Out Section, Thoughts, Picture of Pre-Game in CHICAGO

New York Post Pull-Out Section, Schedule

November 4, 2010

This is as good a time as ever.  It's time for me to break my silence.  Two years ago Donnie Walsh said he had a plan, and part of which meant getting Salary Cap Flexibility.  To every-one's amazement, he accomplished that with effective haste.  We knew the roster needed to be deconstructed.  And it has been. 

Entering year three under Donnie, we found ourselves in a position to add a player of Amare Stoudemire's caliber.  He will not be enough, but that is a different conversation.  The point is, the Knicks under Coach D'Antoni are back on the clock now.  Donnie asked for two years from me as a fan and I gave them up willingly and happily.  I was grateful change was upon us.  However it's time to start grading report cards again.  Their grace period is over however thankful I am with further separation from the ZEKE Era.

Tonight we are in ChiTown taking on the Bulls.  It's an early season barometer for us.  We played well against the Celtics a short time ago but didn't win.  Tonight, a competitive effort against a team that lapped us once around in rebuilding our teams of the 90's, would go a long way towards gaining my short term attention back.  It's time to admit something I have never dealt with before as a fan of any of my teams.

I am a Knicks fan at a crossroads.  It has everything to do with becoming disconnected in the last years of the Isiah Thomas years and my inability to fully get back into the swing of things.  It had gotten so bad for me personally that I am still in the process of re-learning the League again.  Honest.

The second factor contributing to my Knick disconnect is none other than the New Jersey Nets franchise coming to Brooklyn.  Zeke and the Brooklyn development changed everything for me.

I do not think (I know) I will ever stop being a Knicks fan.  Sooner than later I will be back up to snuff on all things Knicks again.  It's just been slow coming because the Nets have stolen all my attention since their initial announcement they were coming to the Borough of Kings.  I'll start to explain myself now that the season is in swing.

KNICKS vs. BULLS

Live Picture of WARM-UPS from my "source"  in Chicago.

Game shots may follow;  Maybe not.

1st Half:

Gallinari; high scorer ~ 21 points

Stoudemire ~ 12 points

KNICKS  70

Bulls         52

Photo ~ 1st half action.

The New York Knicks have done everything right in the first half putting up 30+ points in each of the first two quarters.  But I expect much better play by the Bulls in the second half. 

Derrick Rose was just chucking up threes for the most part. 

Gallinari had a break-out performance in the first half.  He needs to sustain now.  That's been his knock.  Coach D doesn't think he brings it every game.  He's right.   But tonight this is the Gallo everyone hoped they were getting when we drafted him.

2ND HALF

Gallinari pretty much disappeared.  He scored 3 points in the 2nd half after such a strong start.

Raymond Felton finished with 20 points and 10 assists.  What a great night for him.

Amare Stoudemire increased his points total by 2;  finishing with 14 points tonight.  He hung in and took a charge late in the 4th quarter.  I like to see that.

30 points by Toney Douglas off the bench was the difference tonight by far.  That was his career high.

The Knicks had 6 blocked shots and have doubled their average over last year in that category.

Tonight is what a Mike D'Antoni team is supposed to look like...in theory and in practice.

The Knicks spread the ball around, ran the breaks and shot very very well from the field.  It was especially nice to see us get the win and Stoudemire not being among the leading scorers.

Like I said earlier, playing these guys was a good way to see where we stand so far.  They got out to an early lead tonight, and never really looked back.  They won convincingly and made the defensive stops when they had to.  Defense?  Chicago didn't play much of it tonight.  They had huge lapses in effort tonight.

...Just taking everything in stride.

Final

KNICKS  120

Bulls         112

Mike.BTB



GadZOOKS!! ZEKE is Back!!

Isiah Thomas is back in the employ of the New York Knicks Front Office.  Huh?  Kind of anyway.  OK...we're not going to over react are we?  Maybe.  Let's see what we're working with here.

Many teams found their Path towards Displeasure with Stephan Marbury a rather short one.  Zeke traded to get him.  He brought him to Broadway and decided to build around him.  Zeke also hired Larry Brown to a five year deal to be coach of this Knick team.  The short version is Zeke allowed Marbury to circumvent every step of the chain of command starting with Brown.  Marbury went to Zeke direct.  There was no Brown for Stephon.  There was an Intern in the back of an Escalade though.  (DOH!).   Brown was powerless against Marbury's self-absorption and disregard for proper channels.  What drove Coach Brown more insane than anything was Marbury's reluctance to adhere to Brown's system.  Coach Larry Brown was fired after one year and the Knicks ate a lot off money on that contract.

Remember the Continental Basketball Association?  Zeke is widely regarded to be the one responsible for driving that League into the ground and having it end up in bankruptcy.

Does anyone even remember the Lenny Wilkens days at this point?  I thought so.

Remember when he stepped in as coach?  How he had more plays designed for Ms. Sanders than he could muster for the Knick with 7.3 seconds left in the game and no time-outs?  Let's face that fact too...he didn't have any set plays and he just wasn't a good coach at all.

The Sexual Harassment issue?  Hmmm.  He cost the owner $11 million Dolan Dollars to settle with Ms. Sanders.  But he also brought shame to a very proud and long standing stalwart of the NBA.

Continuing along his path of financial mushroom clouds, Zeke traded away any and all our expiring contracts and plunged us into Cap Hell Abyss.  There was a window when he had a chance to move the team away from that.  But Zeke slammed that window shut and really did a job on this franchise that had ramifications for years to come; as impactful and harmful as Ewing's contract set this organization back initially.  I'll cut him a break and not even dissect the Eddie Curry trade and other dubious moves he made, to include torpedoing our lottery pick(s).

There were rumors not to long ago that Donnie Walsh would retire and Zeke would be named the next GM of the Knicks.  Then again, I heard that same rumor about Allen Houston.  Donnie Walsh said he isn't going anywhere until his contract is up.

Can I, as a Knick fan, have Zeke as my GM, after everything that transpired with Zeke the first time around?

NO!  He wielded too much power around here, abused it and drove this franchise into chaos.  The Knicks were a moribund organization and a laughing stock under his stewardship.

Because of him I completely became unplugged.  I closed my eyes on the NBA.  I forgot and the who's who of basketball rosters changed and I found myself literally out of touch with the NBA..  I finally have my interest increasing with steady upticks in curiosity.  I'm always a KNICKS fan OK?  But I just had to ignore for my own mental sanity.

If he is meant to be a periphery entity behind the scenes at MSG; not seen nor heard ~ if he is here back in Dolan's inner circle to add input on talent evaluation for the draft and otherwise......(*sigh*)...If Dolan must do so...Zeke is good at it, so I guess it's fine because Dolan has this affinity for Zeke that boggles the mind of greater Metropolis.

So the guy drafted well.  (Another sigh)  Zeke found a lot of talent on the rear end of the first pound selections the Knicks were positioned with.  Somehow he drafted firecracker Nate Robinson, David Lee, Trevor Ariza and Channing Frey in slots where your not supposed to get that kind of talent.  He drafted other nice names and he's getting the respect for that here.

I just can't have him making that rumor come true by becoming the GM of the Knicks.  No.

Mike.BTB

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