Ronzone Sono Buoni

"A person familiar with Walsh's thinking said he is open to hiring two subordinates in the front office. One would be experienced with scouting and personnel; the other would be savvy about negotiating contracts and making trades. Among the people Walsh is believed to be considering are former 76ers general manager Billy King, Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien, YES and ABC/ESPN announcer Mark Jackson, who played for the Knicks and Pacers, and former Bobcats president Bernie Bickerstaff.

Walsh holds Bickerstaff in extremely high regard and believes he hasn't gotten enough credit for his rebuilding acumen in Charlotte, Washington and Denver. Walsh regards Warkentien as a risk-taker whose out-of-the-box thinking would be an asset. King has run successful drafts and gotten difficult deals done. Having an experienced person in one role would enable Walsh to groom Jackson, who has no coaching or front-office experience, in the other.

Walsh also realizes that the Knicks need to get serious about international scouting, an area they have badly neglected. Walsh is believed to be leaning toward adding a third person for that role, and Pistons director of international scouting Tony Ronzone would be among the leading candidates."

- Newsday

I think Jackson would be a good fit. Many coaches that coached Mark always talk about his his leadership and the ability to master x's and o's. Sometimes it is good to use new talent instead of recycling old ones. JVG and Larry have said many times they would let Mark run the show.

Posted by djsunyc:

and he has better taste in women...

and isn't likely to be found with a man.

you guys need to stop looking for the next new thing

"Whatever Mark chooses to do, he will do fine in it, Mark's a New Yorker, has a New York swagger. Whether coaching, front-office, he'd do an outstanding job."

- Patrick Ewing

Posted by Siar617:

you guys need to stop looking for the next new thing

I'm very interested in your suggestions for head coach. Please share them with us.

oohah

Coach

"A real pro," Walsh said. "Commitment, he has to have the ability to know what he knows and know what he doesn't know, and therefore to fill in the blanks with people he hires. He has to have a presence. Now, Thomas has all these qualities, so I don't want you to make a distinction with it."

Walsh said he will name a coach before a general manager, a low priority. Walsh also reiterated his biggest goal in making transactions is keeping cap flexibility to sign a free agent in the summer of 2010 when LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are free, and still remaining competitive the next two seasons.

NYP


Having the next GM hired after the head coach is in place, puts that next GM individual in a position of less overall authority, with limited ability to fire the coach. potentially more focus on roster than administrative duties.

MSG has been down this road before and it is not always clear saiing.

Jackson Indicates Interest in Knicks

By HOWARD BECK
Published: April 20, 2008 NYT

Mike Breen (the Knicks’ play-by-play man) turned to his left and asked Mark Jackson (the former Knicks point guard) if he wanted to coach his old team. Jackson hinted that he might. Then the former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, sitting to Breen’s right, gave Jackson his unqualified endorsement.

One presumes that somewhere in Manhattan, Donnie Walsh watched with great interest and a wry smile. Walsh, the new Knicks president, fired Isiah Thomas as coach on Friday and confirmed that Jackson was a candidate for the job.

Jackson’s first chance to reciprocate publicly came Saturday, as he joined Breen and Van Gundy to call the playoff game between the Spurs and the Phoenix Suns.

“I tell you what, Donnie Walsh is a guy that I have a great relationship with,” said Jackson, who played parts of six seasons for the Pacers when Walsh was the team’s president. “As far as history, the New York Knicks are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. That certainly is a job that is very intriguing.”

Jackson stopped short of calling himself a candidate. But Van Gundy, the last Knicks coach to post a winning record, thought it was a good idea.

“Hey, he's the right guy at the right time for the New York Knicks,” Van Gundy said.


Walsh said it would take “a special person” to overcome a lack of coaching experience. But he has hired rookies in the past, including Thomas and Larry Bird in Indiana.

“There are certain things that I’ll be looking for when I talk to Mark that will signal to me whether he really understands what the challenge will be,” Walsh said.

[Edited by - misterearl on 04-19-2008 10:07 PM]