# The Evaluation of Donnie Walsh starts on Draft Night



## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*All the rumors of NBA trades and mock draft selections will be revealed on draft night.* 

Some NBA teams will build for success, some may stay the same, and some may make decision to become next season Lottery Team, all from this 2008 draft. The 2007 Draft we had the 2008 Championship Boston Celtics traded their pick for one of the Boston Three Parties that won the war. What Manager in the NBA on this 2008 Draft Night has a sure fire plan mapped-out for an outstanding season of success? 

It should be well known that I am not a great fan of the Indiana Pacers President Donnie Walsh who is now the New York Knicks President of operation. He had three months to pick a Vice President or General Manager to help him with the "desperate Knick roster" who could use alot of help in their coaching staff and player personel. Previous repeated 23 win seasons is the factor here.

Donnie Walsh wants three (3) years with a 2010 plan to go after a Super Star like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, or Bosh. Which happens to be a 20% chance of ever happening. Did the Boston Celtics having Super Star SF-Pierce and star SG-Ray Allen have anything to do with Super Star PF-KG approving the trade (clause in contract) to go to the Boston Celtics? 

Donnie Walsh hired a celebrity winning Head Coach D'Antoni, to persuade star players and their agents to want to be apart of this Knick Organization. However, that is all good, but...... for that to work successfully Donnie Walsh will have to show how strong his leverage of power and knowledge as the Knicks President of Operations are by comming out a successful winner in this 2008 Draft. He have to do alot more than just selecting a 6th pick from the draft. 

Do the hard New York Knick Fans want to see some positive results at the start of next season from Donnie Walsh? please feel free to answer


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*Donnie Walsh did nothing on draft night for a 23 win team.* 

Oh Yeah, Coach D. selected one of his ex-players sons wid the 6th pick, who dont play any DEFENSE. Common! 
The Knicks are in desprate need for a SG to replace BUM Crawful! 
Who happen to be the only SG on the Knicks roster the last 4 seasons. 

*So many losing teams did great on draft night.* 

The Bobcats got PG-DJ Augustin so Felton could play his original position as Combo-Guard. HOF Coach Larry Brown will be looking good again with a dynamic trio backcourt of J.Richardson, Felton, and 6th Man of the Year PG-DJ Augustin (Great assist & turnover ratio which put him ahead of Bayless in the draft). 

Memphis got NBA Ready Star player OJ Mayo from the Wolves. 
Where was Dolan $cash$ at on Draft Night? 

The Nets grabbed C-Brook to enforce more power in their Frontcourt strength that will give all their PF relief at being F/C. 
I said it before that the Bucks had Yi out there on the trading block so they could select SF-Joe Alexander with the 8th pick, who will be welcome gracefully with the Bucks new addition of SF-Richard Jefferson whom will provide Alexander with all the NBA talent & skillz that is needed at the NBA SF position within a season or two. 

*Knick-Fans should grade Donnie Walsh on this draft night, before the mid offseason trades and signing of FA. He just added a 5th SF to the Knicks roster without trading SF-Q.Richardson who demands 30 mpg, and so-call defensive Max MLE SF-Jared Jefferies. 

I'm picking Beasely to be the ROY,* and step right into a Tandem with Marion as if the Eastern Conference Stole the Marion & Amare tandem from the West Coast. The trio of Beasely, Marion, and Wade will be very effective because Pat Riley is not finished this offseason at building a Top notch 8-Man rotation for next season.


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## NewAgeBaller (Jan 8, 2007)

Kiyaman said:


> *Donnie Walsh did nothing on draft night for a 23 win team.*


Have to agree. More than making bad decisions, it was the fact that he didn't help the team climb out of its hole at all, particularly with this great opportunity in the draft.


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## TRUTHHURTS (Mar 1, 2003)

They havent played a game yet its pure ignorance to talk about how the team didnt get any better without allowing them the chance to even play. 

In the paper today D'antoni said he wasnt interested in the kid at first but the knicks scouts convinced him he was the right pick. 

And common basketball sense tells you that you dont pass on possibly the best sf in the draft to take the 4th best guard. Thats how you suck for many more years .


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

It must be something in the Garden air that makes these executives make terrible decisions. I'm still hoping that Walsh can wheel and deal to make me feel better, because right now I'm salty about this draft.


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## alphaorange (Jul 2, 2006)

*No offense, Kitty*

But it isn't about how you feel about it. It's about getting better and staying with a plan. I'm definitely upset we didn't get more done but I have no idea what was talked about or offered. I am a firm believer that we should have come up with either another good pick...especially in light of Lee apparently being shopped. I guess I just like him as a player more than most. If DG is going to be our PF, we have GOT to make more changes. He cannot play with Curry ...especially with no Lee. WE WOULD GET KILLED on the boards and with a continuing lack of interior D. Can't help but think we could have gotten either Westbrook or Mayo and then nabbed Alexander or one of the Lopez bros. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didn't.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

TRUTHHURTS said:


> They havent played a game yet its pure ignorance to talk about how the team didnt get any better without allowing them the chance to even play.
> 
> In the paper today D'antoni said he wasnt interested in the kid at first but the knicks scouts convinced him he was the right pick.
> 
> And common basketball sense tells you that you dont pass on possibly the best sf in the draft to take the 4th best guard. Thats how you suck for many more years .


yes the scouts and donnie made the right decision here, and lets not judge this now, this kid can play all 5 positions and lets wait a year and see where we are in a year! I mean they booed chuck person when he was drafted by the pacers and he ended up rookie of the year so lets not judge this quite yet


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## NewAgeBaller (Jan 8, 2007)

knicksfan89 said:


> this kid can play all 5 positions


Are we talking about Magic or Danilo Gallinari?

At best, he can play three positions w/ poor defence.

I agree that we should hold judgement on him, but I don't see this as the right pick for the Knicks at all so far.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

NewAgeBaller said:


> Are we talking about Magic or Danilo Gallinari?
> 
> At best, he can play three positions w/ poor defence.
> 
> I agree that we should hold judgement on him, but I don't see this as the right pick for the Knicks at all so far.



I'm a guy that went from hating the pick to being at the very least skeptical of it. As much as I want to call this a bad pick, I've started to realize that it will be difficult to do so for several reasons. Probably the biggest reason is that we'll run a system unlike any of the conventional systems run or ran in the past. D'Antoni does play an up and down game but the manner in which he plays it has not really been seen; fast break teams of the past were either very good at playing defense and/or reboundes. D'Antoni's teams have been neither which means it might cater to a Danilo Gallinari since a system that is foreign to us, is standard for him and made him the "great" prospect he is. I guess he might be the first move of the many that will follow to fill out the roster in this regard. The question is whether that kind of system can win in this league, which is why I'm skeptical.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

NewAgeBaller said:


> Are we talking about Magic or Danilo Gallinari?
> 
> At best, he can play three positions w/ poor defence.
> 
> I agree that we should hold judgement on him, but I don't see this as the right pick for the Knicks at all so far.


he is like magic johnson and that is what the scouts say as well


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## NewAgeBaller (Jan 8, 2007)

knicksfan89 said:


> he is like magic johnson and that is what the scouts say as well


Thats ridiculous, not really.. Unless you mean a poor, poor, poor man's version of Magic Johnson..


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## alphaorange (Jul 2, 2006)

*Not sure why all the hate and skepticism...*

If you analyze what he CAN do rather than what he cannot, he looks pretty damn good. He has about as good a handle as you get have at his height (which according to Walsh is close to 6'10 now and will probably grow to 6'11. By all accounts he is pretty much a lights out shooter. He is a very good passer. He cuts well without the ball. He gets steals because of the high BBall IQ he possesses. He doesn't shy away from contact and, in fact, attacks the basket, drawing contact. He also plays hard and has a bit of a mean streak. These are things he ALREADY has. The downside: He needs to get stronger (he will) and he is neither a good defender or rebounder. However, he will get better at both. He is NOT a typical Euro player.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*I guess now you members in this forum know why I dont like Donnie Walsh or D'Antoni as part of this Knick Organization.* 

They want to sit on their fanny and do nothing but pick up the phone and find out that "David Lee" is the most desired player teams want to trade the Knicks for. Every Knick Fan could have told them this. 
The Knicks had a chance to get some Prominent veteran Stars last offseason and this season with trading David Lee with a Knick Cancer Player. 
And Walsh want to trade David Lee for the 5th pick. Not the 3rd pick, but the 5th pick. All you so-call Knick Fans that went along with this got a short memory of all the players that were offered for David Lee. 
We will start with Ron Artest or J.O'Neal. 

*If anyone want to say that a quick-fix dont work well, than "Walsh & D'Antoni" is proof of that.* 

Yes, I would admit that the Knicks should have FIRED and sued Isiah Thomas the day after the verdict of the Annucha Trail, and gave the reigns of the 2007-8 Knick season to the next in command at President, G.M., and Head Coach. How bad could the Knick Team do from a 23 win season? other than get us one of the 4 draft picks. 

Hiring another Knick rival to replace Isiah like Donnie Walsh instead of Larry Bird or even Kiki Vandeweigh who learned from his mistakes with Denver was not a bright idea. 

The Fans Boo's, NBA commentators, and New York Sports Writers are all jumping on Donnie Walsh and D'Antoni case after the draft with the words "Flawed Roster". 
This will make the "Two Idiots" in charge do something quick before the media carry it any further. 
The Knicks had the $Money$ to buy the rights to SG-Charmer too, who happen to be a very impressive SG inwhich the Knicks roster only have one SG on it. 

*Yes! I said it, both Walsh & D'Antoni are idiots which planned on getting paid for doing nothing but blaming the roster that Isiah left them.* 
But The New York Sports Media and Fans will change that fast. 
Thanks to the Fans that BOOOED the Knicks selection on draft night.


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## Gotham2krazy (Nov 22, 2005)

I gotta agree with you Kiya, I don't like the Gallinari draft too much due to the fact that it was D'Antoni's doings. Hopefully he can play, if not, we're going to start hearing chants of, "Fire Mike, Fire Mike," in the garden every night.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

*Re: Not sure why all the hate and skepticism...*



alphaorange said:


> If you analyze what he CAN do rather than what he cannot, he looks pretty damn good. He has about as good a handle as you get have at his height (which according to Walsh is close to 6'10 now and will probably grow to 6'11. By all accounts he is pretty much a lights out shooter. He is a very good passer. He cuts well without the ball. He gets steals because of the high BBall IQ he possesses. He doesn't shy away from contact and, in fact, attacks the basket, drawing contact. He also plays hard and has a bit of a mean streak. These are things he ALREADY has. The downside: He needs to get stronger (he will) and he is neither a good defender or rebounder. However, he will get better at both. He is NOT a typical Euro player.


Your preaching to the choir about it making more sense to look at what a player can do rather can not. The problem with me when looking at Danilo's game comes from what he can do. All I've seen are highlights but I feel like they have revealed many things to me. Many of the things he can do, he probably won't be able to do on a NBA level. 

You pointed out his excellent jump shot, which he does in fact have. The question is whether he'll be able to get it off in the NBA. He looks to be a guy that takes a while to really hit his top speed off the dribble, which means he'll have a lot of problems gaining seperation from his man. In addition to that, I think he gains little elevation on shots off the dribble or set shots. All that fancy dribbling would mean very little then playing against players that are significantly bigger, stronger and more talented than he's seen in Europe. 

Now your talking about his biggest strength being a weakness in OUR game, which is why I'm skeptical of the pick. I have heard some refreshing news that D'Antoni isn't stupid enough to think this guy can be an effective 3 in our league and will play him at the 4 spot. Unfortunately, doing so opens up a whole new can of worms for me. He'll definately be able to exploit his skills here against slower players but he certainly is not strong enough to take the punishment on the other end of the floor at a position that boasts some of the NBA's best and greatest scorers. I, unlike other Knick fans, am pessimistic about his ability to put on the bulk necessary to not completely be run over at the position defensively and even offensively to some extent (remember that flopping is going to start being called next year, so even being able to beat his man to his spot might not help him). Tim Thomas was about 240 lbs when I suggested we play him at the 4 spot and was crucified because he was supposedly not strong enough to play the 4 (despite eventually proving to do so with the Suns and Clippers); Danilo is a paper clip to him. I'll try to remain optimistic that there will be a greater plan that emerges to mask these pressing issues IMO. 

P.S., I don't think he'll be as good at stealing the ball as he was in Europe. In Europe, he played on the perimeter where his long arms was an advantage playing the lanes. In the USA, that ability becomes mute since he'll be playing closer to the basket where less passing tends to occur. I do not believe his arms are particularly long either when you factor in his height because his feet are very lengthy (due to a growth abnormality), so he likely won't be effective picking pockets in the post. He is fiesty though and hopefully that translates on the NBA level where he could be pretty good at fronting his man.


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## Zuca (Dec 4, 2003)

Well, Isiah also likes Gallinari:

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53253/20080628/isiah_likes_gallinari/


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

^ but the question still remains would Isiah have looked his way if Walsh didn't send him overseas to scout him? I think we all know the answer to that.


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