| Walk This Way Authored by Tommy Dee - March 21, 2008 - 4:33 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Breaking Down The 2nd Round After a somewhat surprising first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, we find ourselves with even better match-ups in the Round of Eight.
Prospect Report: Brook Lopez Of StanfordFor a team looking for a well-developed offensive game at center, Brook Lopez is the 2008 Draft’s best option.
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The Knicks would do well to bring either into a situation in desperate need of a cleanup. Walsh, a local product from the Bronx, was a teammate of Larry Brown at the University of North Carolina. We love the roots and he seems a good fit, but would Walsh take a position coveted by his friend whose career was so incredibly tarnished by his year stay as baby sitter of the Knicks?
West has unmatched pedigree. In 1982, he built the Lakers dynasty around an infamous core, but also did well to maintain their dominance by making key acquisitions like Byron Scott, Mychal Thompson and A.C. Green,. Then after a down slide following Magic Johnson’s retirement, West rebuilt the Lakers by trading up to draft Kobe Bryant positioning themselves to make a run at the league’s most dominating big man in Shaquille O’Neal, whom West soon surrounded with tremendous role players.
In 2002, West was hired as president of basketball operations by the Memphis Grizzlies, the worst team in the NBA at the time. West had an All-Star in Pau Gasol and he quickly rebuilt around the versatile Spaniard. In 2004, the Grizzlies won 50 games for the first time in their history, and West was once again named NBA Executive of the Year. The Grizzlies impressively made the playoffs three straight years from 2004 to 2006 in a very competitive Western Conference.
The idea here would be to bring in West and a young up-and-coming assistant who could learn under the great executive. At 69, this most certainly would be West’s last stop and one that would cap his brilliant 50-year NBA career. Is Gherardini the apprentice or is it Greg Anthony? I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Gherardini has the pedigree thanks to his relationship with European talent, and I think Anthony has executive material written all over him.
One other question that needs to be answered is: who would step in as head coach? You’ve heard the same cast of characters. Mark Jackson, who has no coaching experience, would be a solid fit, but it only seems logical if Walsh is hired instead of West. Walsh and Jackson have a tremendous relationship dating back to Jackson’s playing days in Indiana. I have little doubt Jackson can get the job done. One name you can forget is Scott Skiles. We like the idea of a disciplinarian, just not him.
I think the perfect fit here is New Orleans assistant coach Darrell Walker for a bevy of reasons. Yes, I know he has had his shot and in two full NBA seasons he’s managed just a 56-113 record, but you tell me who could have won in Toronto and Washington? Plus at 35 he may have been a little over his head. First, and foremost he was a Knick and frankly, may have been the best on-ball defender the NBA has ever seen, a weakness that has plagued the Knicks for years. When you don’t have pressure on the ball and guards get into the lane at will, it exposes the team’s lack of interior presence. That needs to be fixed and who better than Walker. Secondly, his entrenched himself in a winning situation as a member of the Hornets staff, preaching defense first leading to transition, a game plan that the team has executed to perfection and one that needs to be adopted in New York.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks leading up to the draft. Do they bring in West as President and hire either Gherardini or Anthony, or both to the team? Or will Walsh decide he wants to close his career in his hometown by bringing back the Knicks organization to relevance with James Dolan's approval? Who knows? This is the Knicks after all. But, one thing’s for sure, the wheels are in motion and it’s about freekin’ time.
Tommy Dee covers the Knicks for RealGM |
