Posted by BasketballJones:

Q. Will Dolan cede authority for all basketball operations to Walsh?

[Edited by - basketballjones on 03-31-2008 10:09]

Posted by misterearl:

Sit Down and Shut Up

"Walsh always has been media friendly and he has close ties to several influential columnists, some of whom are on Dolan's watch list. Former Knicks coach Larry Brown had similar associations with members of the media and Dolan used those relationships against Brown during his arbitration hearing with the club two years ago.

Brown tried to play by the rules as best he could, but he still went about his business as he always had, much to the dismay of Dolan. People who know the 67-year-old Walsh maintain that he will stay true to himself regardless of where he works.

However, people close to Dolan are not convinced that he will suddenly have a change of heart regarding his media policy. The NBA office was instrumental in pushing the Knicks toward Walsh but whether he decides to come to New York is, according to one league source, "out of David Stern's hands. This is up to Dolan now."

Walsh continues to negotiate with Dolan over three key issues: whether he'll have autonomy, the team's media policy and Isiah Thomas' future. Dolan would prefer to have Thomas remain as coach, which will not happen if Walsh is running the Knicks. At the very least, Dolan wants Thomas to remain in the organization in a still-to-be determined role.

Walsh will have the power to hire a general manager as well as a coach and will have the final say on all player transactions. As for the media policy, there is a possibility that Walsh is looking for a scenario where the team's media relations officials report directly to him.

Dolan has created a culture where the players complain about having their conversations monitored and where they are looking over their shoulders to see who is listening to them."

-Frank Isola

Translation:

Forget Walsh and Larry Brown for a moment. Forget Don Chaney, Herb Williams, Lenny Wilkens and forget Isiah.

Without changing the culture at MSG, Donnie Walsh is destined to fail., for no other reason than the conflict that will certainly arise when a major decision must be made and someone must be held accountable for the results. Dolan won't stand down and neither will Walsh.

Few writers are objective enough to separate themselves from such oversight and suspicion. In the same vein, Knicks players must wear a muzzle and walk the fine line between expression (which rarely comes easy for most) and violation of the "no talk" zone. The reportage on any Knicks coach or player will be tainted with the bitter vocabulary of someone who is treated like an indentured servant.

How do any elite athletes (especially yoots) remain focused performance under the constant harsh glare of criticism? My spidey sense tells me that a secure veteran like Malik Rose could care less about media censure and has enough off-the-record moments to double as undercover brother in the locker room. The assistant coaches look like zombies for good reason. Or Imagine the conversation Randolph Morris, David Lee and The Mayor have over breakfast.

Without Dolan letting go of his iron grip on the procedures and policies, Walsh simply won't work, Colangelo won't work and Jerry West won't work. The media policy is simply public evidence of a larger corporate culture that is as flawed as Enron, Countrywide, or Bear Stearns.

Brace yourselves for what promises to be a rocky ride.



[Edited by - misterearl on 04-01-2008 1:38 PM]