Mullin Returning Home?

by Tommy Dee on April 24th, 2009 at 8:18 am

Via Pete Vecsey:

“…In the intervening time there are more urgent issues — the draft, free agency and trades — to research and resolve. When those issues are settled, that’s when Walsh will determine whether even to hire a general manager.

In all probability, it will happen in spite of how highly Walsh regards senior VP Glen Grunwald; because, should the Knicks ever recoup esteem in the standings, Donnie’s chosen one will succeed him when he retires. His $5 million per contract expires in April 2011, at which time Walsh will have just turned 70.

Though Mullin (if free) unquestionably will be among the top three candidates along with Billy King and Billy Knight — Walsh has Indiana Pacers affections and connections with all three — you had better believe there has been no conversation with Chris; tampering could cost the Knicks a No. 1 pick. So, naturally, there has been no commitment.

Yet the rumors continue to circulate to the contrary. In the last few days, I’ve received e-mails from unsound sources contending Mullin-to-the-Knicks is verbally a done deal. A couple of months ago, I was alerted Mullin was shopping for a home in Westchester (for years, he has owned one in the Hamptons), but the name of the real estate agent was not provided.

Walsh has been bombarded with related rumblings, and not just about Mullin.

“Some guy called me yesterday and said he’d heard I’d hired Billy Knight,” Walsh said. “I have no idea where all this stuff comes from. It’s amazing how much misinformation is out there…”

Knight was rumored to be a leading candidate last season, but Walsh decided not to hire anyone in that capacity. I think Mullin, under Walsh’s tutleage, could be okay. People want to look at his record in Golden State, but they did make the playoffs- an astounding feat.

I wonder where this leaves Allan Houston? Walsh, like us, sees H2O as an executive in the making. I’m sure any hire will have to keep Houston under his arm and allow him the ability to grow.
  • jcmoney

    Mullin, I like. It always seems to me that he got the Warriors to overacheive with limited assets. He also seems to be a guy who manages to find great steals in the draft. However he never really acheived success outside of that one upset of the Mavs. (That playoff run got us this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiD2Dvqnsok&feature=related probably my favorite in game dunk of the past few years)

    Billy Knight and Billy King can both stay the fuck away from MSG though. Both of there names just make me think of failure. While both teams eventually improved, it was really after the times of each GM and after years of bad management. Knight will never live down Marvin Williams over Chris Paul. The guy should never get another job. King just seemed to fill his team up with blunders and I dont trust him with Dolan’s checkbook. (see: sam dalembert)

    Houston will always be a sentimental choice for our staff and I would love him to stay on board and learn from Donnie and whoever, but if he is going to want to be the GM of this team one day he should try to find a job somewhere else first so he can learn without the pressure of NY.

  • illsun

    I’m not convinced that mullin is better than Billy Knight.

    Hindsight is always 20/20. If you think back to the 2006 draft.
    No Draft expert from any of the major sites had Chris Paul ahead of Marvin Williams.

    Why doesn’t Milwaukee get roasted for squandering the number 1 pick on Bogut ??

    Billy Knight actually put together a very nice squad. That squad is the nucleaus of this years 4 seed.

    What did Mullin do in his tenure ?
    Everyone knows Nellie ball doesnt win for you long term. But I think that was done to get more butts in the seats, so I give Chris a pass on that.

    So, honestly, I’d love for someone to make a case for Mullin. Educate me.

  • bmathews77

    I was thinking about the possibility of Chris Mullin as a GM in New York after reading this and I think he might be able to succeed here. First off, Mullin did put together that Golden State team by trading for Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson that propelled them to the playoffs and upset the Mavericks a few years ago. It wasn’t until Don Nelson started meddling in personnel moves that things went sour. Second, Mullin would have one of the best in the business in Donnie Walsh to teach him really how to be a good GM.
    I don’t see why he can’t be given the chance if he will be under Walsh’s tutelage however I just don’t see Walsh hiring anyone as a Knicks GM just yet.

  • SpaceMan

    WHY IS THIS TEAM ALL WAYS HIRING SUBPAR PEOPLE?i love donnie and dant, but they haven’t won anything, and neither has mullin.mullin can go coach st johns.we need somebody like that douchebag from the boston red sox.we need new blood.and houston aint it either. i would never hire him as gm.he got that ridiculous contract.i would be scared as hell he’d be pen happy signing players.

  • Arputter

    I agree that Knight and King are terrible, but I feel like Mullin gets a free pass for what happened in Golden State. Those teams did nothing with some really quality players. Yes, he did draft well, but they won one playoff series with teams that included Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis, Baron Davis, Andris Biedrins, Stephen Jackson, Big Al and others. I guess the GM is responsible for the players, so the lack of sucess has a lot to do with the coach. If he can get a couple steals like Ellis, Biedrins, Randolph and even Bellinelli for us, I’d be very happy.

  • jcmoney

    OK here is my extended opinion of Mullin:

    1.) Mike Montgomery was a bad choice of coach. I dont know if he was signed by Mullin or if it was arranged by the previous regime but he never connected with his players and never seemed like a good pro coach. That really contributed to the underacheiving from 2004-2006

    2.) He got it right with Don Nelson turning the team into a very successful run and gun team. The Dunleavey/Murphy for Harrington/Steven Jackson trade was great. He got Baron Davis for nothing. He plucked Matt Barnes from obscurity. Anthony Morrow out of nowhere. Got Monte Ellis in the 2nd round. Got Biedriens at the 11th pick. Randolph at 14. The only real bust is Patrick O’Bryant at #9. I guess you could also say he overpayed for Corey Magette.

    3.) The fact that this team got to the second round of the playoffs even once in Mullin’s four years is a huge testament to his skill. Remember the west was ridiculously stacked. Teams over 500 were getting left out of the playoffs. It was not an easy feat to beat the Mavs. Also keep in mind that Mullin completely rebuilt the team into a Nellieball system in less than two years.

    4.) Remember that the Warriors dont have Cablevision. They couldn’t afford to re-sign Gilbert Arenas. They had to give away JRich. They got spurned by Baron Davis. Its not like guys are dying to play for the Warriors or they can offer extravagant contracts. He is working on a budget.

    And about Billy Knight, you are wrong, not everyone had Williams over Paul. Many sportswriters noted that he Paul would not fall past the Hawks due to the fact that they were in dire need of a point guard and had been for years. Paul was considered can’t miss, many people had Paul going #2. I remember watching the draft thinking it was the biggest mistake.

    And the reason the Bucks dont get shit for taking Bogut is because #1 the Bucks werent desperate for a point guard so it’s not crazy to take a center consdered to be the best player in the nation. Even if their talent is easy, it’s hard to knock someone taking a chance on a big since its so rare to get a skilled 7 footer. Even so, Bogut is still an above average center who can impact a game. Marvin Williams is still developing into a swingman role, and there are tons of young swingmen in the NBA. Also, the Hawks had just drafted Childress and Josh Smith who are of similar stature to Williams.

    Plus, the Hawks were always in the lottery, they had so many chances to find talent that they couldnt really mess up every time. With all the draft picks, the only clear success was Al Horford who they couldnt mess up. Everyone else was a bust and I cant think of one other successful personell move except Horford and the Joe Johnson trade which is debatable because it cost them two #1s and Boris Diaw who went on to immediately become a starting caliber player for a playoff team. So essentially three number ones for Joe Johnson.

    I’ll take Mullin, especially if he has to answer to Donnie. Im not saying I would hire Mullin straight out, but under Donnie he is just another great basketball mind who probably wont mess anything up. Both of the Billys im not sure about.

  • Mucha

    Josh Childress in 2004 (#6), Marvin Williams in 2005 (#2), Shelden Williams (#5) & Acie Law in (#11) in 2006… I mean wow. Four (four!) bad picks in a row – and three of them were forwards, are you kidding me?

    Of course Al Horford was a good pick, and I like Marvin Williams but – had Billy Knight really done a good job – the Hawks would be contenders right now. The fact that they are a successful team doesn’t mean sh*t in my opinion, I call that “rotation”. Like Isola said “Beginning in 2001-02, only the Knicks (…) and Bobcats have yet to post a winning season”.

  • CircleLimit4

    I think he gets a mulligan for Josh Childress. He was developing nicely before he bolted for Greece. I’m curious as to see if anyone will take a stab at him this summer.