donnie walsh townhall recap...

djsunyc · Post #1 » by **djsunyc** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:43 am

just got back from a donnie walsh town hall type q&a for season ticket holders at the garden. i think they're going to put it up on msg.com soon (it's about an hour long). the questions were emailed by season ticketholders prior to the q&a.

here's a quick recap. my opinion will be in italics.

on cap room: walsh will not jeopardize giving up cap room in 2010. that's his goal no matter what transaction takes place. he believes ny needs cap room b/c every player in the league wants to play in ny. he does not feel pressure to make a deal today just to achieve that 3 years from now. he will take his time.

on the team: it will take some time. he wants to get cap room but wants to try and be competetive in the interim. he does not know what he has here so this next season will be to see who fits and who doesn't and then it will be his job to get players that do. they will have to play hard and earn the respect of the fans back.

he said this team has players that know how to get themselves going but not sure on how to work as a team. that's why he brought in duhon b/c he looks for his teammates. and why he brought in gallinari b/c he's looking to pass the ball. when you have players that aren't necessarily looking for others, you have to bring in players that will help them.

on d'antoni: thinks he's a great coach. he can adapt to any situation and has proven so in his years in italy and pheonix. the team will run but what impresses him the most is that d'antoni exudes positivity. and the players see that. he also puts players in the right positions to succeed. he has a knack of knowing how a player can contribute and how to play for a team to be successful.

on defense: the league has changed and you can't touch anybody. so team defense is key instead of that one lock down defender. everyone must keep moving on the court. he thinks that they can play up and down by forcing the tempo starting with the defense. he wants a shot blocker tho.

on zach/clipper deal: what was reported was not accurate. and he doesn't feel he should make a deal for something less. he thinks you have to get the same value or more in a deal. if you don't value your players high, nobody else in the league will either.

on balkman deal: team has 9 players at the forward spots. and they figured balkman will not play that much. he'd rather trade a guy that won't play instead of him being here and being unhappy and bring that type of negativity to the locker room.

onto the players individually:

steph: thinks he's a big time talent and is a very good scorer. he doesn't care what happened prior to his hiring, and is basically giving steph a clean slate. "he's a part of this if he wants to be". he's very impressed by how hard he's working this summer. seems like d'alsh will give him every chance to play this season and may be counting on it.

david lee: i am not shopping david lee. (crowd applauds). i like him and thinks he will do very well under d'antoni. this type of system will hide some of the things he can't do.

quentin: q is a good player that was too heavy last season. he's working out hard this summer and has lost weight. he expects him to be the type of player he was with d'antoni the first time around.

chandler: was very impressed with what he saw in summer league. he loves danny granger and he felt chandler went right at it with him.

danillo: brings a unique set of skills. will probably fill out to 240 and will be a good player. he even alludes to larry bird here as a comparison. said he's not injury prone and that almost every top10 pick got hurt early in summerleague. not worried about it and expects him to be a very good player in the league.

crawford: thinks crawford can have an allstar year. he's a very talented scorer and looks for him to make the jump like allan houston and reggie miller did. he's been in the league for a while, the time is now.

nate: he couldn't believe his athleticism and thinks he's a one of a kind talent. didn't really get into what they expect from him or where he fits tho.

jeffries: (crowd groans). walsh says atlanta fans groaned about diaw also. says he's has alot of skill and d'antoni is excited to coach him.

zach: (someone says get rid of him). walsh says sarcastically, yeah, get rid of a 20/10 player. he's a very good player and they will try to make him do things he doesn't want to do (i'm guessing pass and be unselfish) and that will make him better.

curry: if you're going to take a risk on a player, it's a 24 year old center with quick feet. he's a good player to have but he's going to have to want it.

mardy: he has a quiet toughness. he was surprised at how intelligent he is as a player. not a good shooter but knows how to play.

walsh was very candid and seems like someone a knick's fan can trust. he didn't try to sweet talk and was just matter of fact. probably left some stuff out but you'll see all this on msg.com soon enough. he was very complimentary towards steph and surprisingly jeffries. and looks like he thinks this will be crawford's year. he kept repeating that this will be a slow process to turn it around but the plan is more 3 years than 7 years. and cap room in 2010 will happen no matter what even if that means not extending anybody or signing any new players.

Synciere · Post #2 » by **Synciere** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:57 am

So basically let's build up value and see who CAN fit before we decide what they're worth to us and if they'll be a part of the long-term plan.

I actually like the idea of keeping Steph, especially since if he does succeed, he'll be a huge expiring that can still play. I like the idea of starting him and Jamal with Nate and Dudu as the primary backups. Makes sense to me.

Post #3 » by **GONYK** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:04 am

Great recap. Thanks dj.

I like Walsh's frank nature and patient methods. He has a plan, and he will stick to it. No matter what. I can appreciate that, and look forward to what he and D'Antoni will put on the floor for us in the coming seasons.

TKF · Post #4 » by **TKF** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:11 am

great recap Dj, thanks for the info. Interesting that he is not shopping lee..

and this statement was also interesting..

on zach/clipper deal: what was reported was not accurate. and he doesn't feel he should make a deal for something less. he thinks you have to get the same value or more in a deal. if you don't value your players high, nobody else in the league will either.

Again, I hope we can now put that rumor to rest..

I have to take his word for it, but I am shocked they are looking to bringing marbury into the fold....

truth serum · Post #5 » by **truth serum** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:19 am

on zach/clipper deal: what was reported was not accurate. and he doesn't feel he should make a deal for something less. he thinks you have to get the same value or more in a deal. if you don't value your players high, nobody else in the league will either.

Should I suggest that the people who insist we had a chance to trade Zach for a 2nd rounder would go as far as calling Donnie Walsh a liar? A man who consistently sounds this intelligent and sincere? I think there's a lot of people here who need to take a chill pill and let this man do his work. How can you not trust him? I mean, maybe he follows out this "plan" for now, and when it comes time to start making big trades for players who "fit better", he completely phucks it all up. But for right NOW...how do you not trust him?

Sweet post btw djsunyc

truth serum · Post #6 » by **truth serum** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:19 am

Beat me to it TKF...

blueNorange · Post #7 » by **blueNorange** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:23 am

i don't care, i just want them to lose as many games to get a top pick next year.

then sign wade or james in 2010

aq_ua · Post #8 » by **aq_ua** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:44 am

Pretty much answered my questions. I'm pleasantly surprising he was so blunt about the cap space in 2010, but honestly I think this gives him a negotiating edge in any discussions, since agents, players, competing GMs will know what the bottom line is.

Dantares · Post #9 » by **Dantares** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:23 am

Start David Lee and Zach Randolph. Let them pad stats and then we can finally get rid of some of our bad contracts.

Post #10 » by **Luv those Knicks** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:37 am

blueNorange wrote:i don't care, i just want them to lose as many games to get a top pick next year.

then sign wade or james in 2010

That is an interesting question. As a fan, do I want this team to suck, or do I want them to impress me next year.

Tough call.

But that was a good read, and I got the feeling that walsh liked Jeffries last year. Jeffries closed the year with 6 pts 5 rebs, which isn't great, but he can defend, shoot, pass. He's got an OK skill set.

I also like that he's giving Marbury a look. It might be a fun season next year with a shot at playoffs.

Did he say anything about Malik, Jerome or Roberson?

Jose7 · Post #11 » by **Jose7** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:15 am

Thanks for the recap.

KnicksGadfly · Post #12 » by **KnicksGadfly** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:33 am

djsunyc wrote: he believes ny needs cap room b/c every player in the league wants to play in ny.

Hopefully he's right. On another note, it looks like he thinks we do have talent. Did he say anything about Jerome or Roberson?

god shammgod · Post #13 » by **god shammgod** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:28 pm

TKF wrote:great recap Dj, thanks for the info. Interesting that he is not shopping lee..

and this statement was also interesting..

on zach/clipper deal: what was reported was not accurate. and he doesn't feel he should make a deal for something less. he thinks you have to get the same value or more in a deal. if you don't value your players high, nobody else in the league will either.

Again, I hope we can now put that rumor to rest..

I have to take his word for it, but I am shocked they are looking to bringing marbury into the fold....

yeah, it obviously must be true because he told a crowd of fans that. :lol:

in the next sentence he once again states that you must get more or equal value for a player in a trade, which is another way of saying cap space is not good enough for zach. but whatever tkf believe you want. some people believe elvis is still alive.

god shammgod · Post #14 » by **god shammgod** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:31 pm

djsunyc wrote:
quentin: q is a good player that was too heavy last season. he's working out hard this summer and has lost weight. he expects him to be the type of player he was with d'antoni the first time around.

crawford: thinks crawford can have an allstar year. he's a very talented scorer and looks for him to make the jump like allan houston and reggie miller did. he's been in the league for a while, the time is now.

these are the thoughts of someone who's delusional.

god shammgod · Post #15 » by **god shammgod** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:43 pm

some of you want the knicks to be successful so bad that you'll buy anything. do you really believe d'antoni can come in and take this group of guys who have been consistent losers and turn them into winners. cause that's what walsh is selling you, that there's talent here it's just not being used right. what a joke, all of these guys have played for a number of other coaches and been the same players. this is not the bad news bears, it just doesn't happen that way.

Post #16 » by **duetta** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:02 pm

The problem with the process that Walsh is describing here is that he's still has too many bodies. There are simply not enough minutes for guys to either show what they might do in D'Antoni's system or build up their trade value. If you give all the minutes at the PF-C to Curry, Randolph and Lee, what minutes will their be for anyone else? Or if you have Q, Jeffries, Chandler at the SF.

They need to solve this chemistry problem - at least if the plan is to showcase players.

And as I've said before, you can't still be in dismantling mode in '09-'10, when another team owns your #1 pick. There will be fan mutiny by then if they try that.

And finally, if Walsh is seriously thinking about Lebron, he better have a plan to accumulate assets quickly, because Cleveland HAS TO trade Lebron after this season if they think he's not going to resign. Then cannot let him walk. And every team will be bidding for him.

Post #17 » by **chitownsports4ever** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:51 pm

on defense: the league has changed and you can't touch anybody. so team defense is key instead of that one lock down defender.

Wow how many times has this exact topic been discussed .

god shammgod · Post #18 » by **god shammgod** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:21 pm

i'm beating a dead horse but for the few naive people who post here.

from alan hahn's blog -

2. He said that the rumor about trading Zach Randolph with a first round pick for nothing is a rumor and he won't comment on it. But he also said that if they Knicks don't value their own players, then the rest of the league won't either. And he is not giving away and of the Knicks for less value.

(Note: david and I both agree this is a non-denial denial...but time to move on)

so both here and on kellerman he's pretty much admitted he thinks zach is worth more then cap space. anyone can see that, anyone with sense that is. and for anyone who gets their panties in a bunch about me talking about this again, i wasn't the one who brought it up in this thread.

TKF · Post #19 » by **TKF** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:24 pm

At The Mecca wrote:Beat me to it TKF...

TKF · Post #20 » by **TKF** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:33 pm

god shammgod wrote:some of you want the knicks to be successful so bad that you'll buy anything. do you really believe d'antoni can come in and take this group of guys who have been consistent losers and turn them into winners. cause that's what walsh is selling you, that there's talent here it's just not being used right. what a joke, all of these guys have played for a number of other coaches and been the same players. this is not the bad news bears, it just doesn't happen that way.

no. we know that only mark Jackson could turn this team of losers into champions... :roll:

Honestly, I will settle right now for being competitive and relevant. I want a direction and style of play, and I will take it from there..... we all understand it is a process, and I am willing to let a sucessful GM and coach do their jobs and watch how it plays out... I guess we are delusional because we don't want to doom them to failure from the jump like you are....