Poll: Walsh Rating

by Tommy Dee on February 18th, 2010 at 4:30 pm

On a scale from 1-10, 1 being "Worse than Isiah" and 10 being "build a shrine" rate Donnie Walsh


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  • Magik_Trick

    To early to say, July 1st, 2010 will determine how successful Donnie Walsh really is

    0 if we get nobody

    10 if we get 2 maxx guys

  • traps9

    I gave him an 8 because of the Nate trade and the (lack of) protection on the picks. It would’ve been a 9, otherwise.

  • CircleLimit4

    3. If we get Lebron it’s bumped up to a 7.

  • CircleLimit4

    bumped to 8*

  • Kwayry

    Gave him a 3. The Nate trade was terrible. The Tmac trade is bad, but he has an out in July. It is just not responsible to let your destiny controlled by events out of your control.
    I thought he can clear up cap space while preserving the future.

  • knicksfan36

    yea same here. giving up hill for the opportunity of getting lebron or wade wasnt good enough for me. if, however, it works out that the knicks get lebron, or wade, or both, then donnie in my eyes would be a 9.

    he still cant negotiate for sh*t though.

  • young hova

    You are telling me if the guy delivers the best player in the NBA in his prime you are just giving him an 8 or 9? Wow tough judges.

    I gave him a 5 based on the fact that it really depends on the summer and what he does with the capspace that he has gotten

  • CircleLimit4

    Haha well Donnie can make any player a max player. If he uses the cap space to give max contracts to Amare and Joe Johnson then break out the bust balloons and fail-fetti.

  • itzyung1

    I give him a 7. because even if we don’t get Lebron Bosh and Joe sound very good to me.

  • Knicks4life

    Same.

    If nobody comes this summer . . .

  • http://ed-blogged.blogspot.com/ BlogEd

    The new regime at MSG begins today 2/18…DW and MD came here and had to play with someone else’s chips they did what they could with those pieces and tried to bring in some pieces to keep the team competitive w/o compromising the team’s future aka post july 1 2010. There are no more excuses about not having cap space and “their” players. We now have a clean slate and DW and MD have the freedom to bring players they want who they feel will win in NY. Everything starts today that is the bottom line…

    side note…we might not all love style and brand of basketball but we will see now if the knicks can make it work and make believers out of all us PR/JVG defensive minded, tough NYC ball.

  • flanz0

    I gave him an 8.

    People forget just how disasterous this situation was when he got here. He unloaded a ton of headaches (not just cap-wise, either). He said from day 1 his goal was to get enough cap space for 2 max contracts, and he delivered. By fulfilling that promise I give him his due.

  • CircleLimit4

    Well if 10 is a Donnie-shrine then yes.

    Getting Lebron without giving up a rookie or draft pick constitutes a shrine.

    Getting Lebron while giving up either Hill or a future first would deserves a 9

    Getting Lebron while giving up BOTH Hill and a pick = 8 IMO.

    Not to mention Donnie still has his work cut out for him filling out the roster even if he gets Lebron. We still have no PG, no center and no 2010 first rounder.

  • MrFurious

    I gave him a 6.

    For this reason, we have not been remotely competitive as we have dismantled the team. We have had a 2 year fire sale, maybe that was the only way…but I’m not giving a GM a high score for essentially methodically dismantling a team. Walsh has cleared a path to rebuilding a team with great flexibility but I gotta say…Duhon as a starting PG alone, knocks Walsh down 2 pts IMO.

    However, I disagree that the Knicks don’t control their own destiny. We can remake this team in multiple ways depending upon who we can sign. Lebron is not the only all-star in the NBA. I guess fans are just shell shocked from the last decade and i don’t blame them. I find it hard to believe that Knicks will have 30 mil of cap space but no one will take that money. The key is we have the flexibility to sign multiple players as opposed to the last 14 years (last time knicks had cap space…1996)

  • itzyung1

    AND We have a serviceable PG and a Star. now

  • vnutz

    i just don’t get the point of the Nate trade. how do we not get picks back in this trade???

  • Tissues

    8 – with the thought of two max players next year – the team can only get better.

    He had a horrible roster when he got it and it took a while but starting to look positive. Truth comes in the summer.

  • BobbyFromBK

    Gave him a middle-of-the-road ’5′. Let’s see what he does this summer.

  • Hustle

    I’m giving him an 8 as well, though with the stipulation that we sign at least one real max free agent next summer.

    Let’s face it, this was the plan all along, and he stuck to it rather than bailing out. Yesterday we were doomed to be stuck in purgatory for the next few years. Today we have hope for the future.

    Now, if he can somehow move Eddie Curry before the deadline, then he’d really be a great GM lol

  • http://ed-blogged.blogspot.com/ BlogEd

    We were losing Nate anyways…What events are out of the Knicks control??? We have space to make moves and for the long term future we are in better position then we would have been with the players we gave up….losing Hill sucks but he is unknown at this point, losing 1st rd pick also sucks…but will you think its a 3 if we get LBJ or 2 solid max players???

  • totti

    i gave him an 8, because he did not get a pick from nate.

    I don’t think dw will give max outside lbron or wade, maybe bosh.
    Guys like joe amare never get a max.
    Remember, hard financial times are coming.

    Even in the worst scenario where lbj stays put, we can spend wisely our money our flexibility our options to build a team soon in the top 4 on east.

  • BluEandOrange

    Knicks have 29 games left.

    In order to reach .500 – the playoff benchmark – the Knicks need to to go 22-9.

    TWENTY-TWO WINS and ONLY NINE LOSSES.

    D’Antoni has to start Sergio, Wilson, McGrady, Gallinari, and Lee in order to win.
    I personally like Gallinari at the power forward because of his lack of speed and his defensive presence in the paint makes up for Lee’s dislike of playing defense.

    Here starts the playoff run!

  • BluEandOrange

    “actually 22-7″

  • joetheknick

    To date Walsh’s performance is shrine quality. He stated his plan to maximize cap space. He has delivered with the exception of Curry whose injuries made it impossible to move for expiring contracts. I have no reason to believe that another GM could have done a better job than Walsh. If you are asking for his legacy that determination is clearly premature. Go Knicks.

  • wegotzeked

    i give him an 8..y all the complaining bout the nate trade? i love the dude too as a player..but doesnt fit our style..was gonna b gone at the end of the yr anyway…was only gonna ok a trade to lakers,boston or orl (i think)..might as well trade him for sum young dudes and see what they got..not to mention we get eddie house in the deal too….
    side note – hope rubios agent is watchin…”strong arm” arn tellem will show u how to get ur client to the team of his choice !!! LMFAO

  • x-man

    Donnie Walsh gets an incomplete NOW period. The name of the game is not to just get under the cap and get 2 max players, it’s to get good players that can make a difference in this team.

    Just because a player gets max does not make them good. At this rate David Lee might ask for Max!

    Walsh has to make it happen unlike he has EVER done before.

    McGrady ain’t the answer to our team!

  • clyde fan

    I gave him a 7.

    I think he has done a good job cleaning up the IT mess.

    The only reason I gave him a 7 and not higher is that I thought he could have gotten us a better draft pick last year than Hill and he signed Duhon.

    But his real grade comes 7/1 and beyond..

    We will be beter next year regardless.

  • Kwayry

    How can a 10 “build a shrine” be an option?
    A shrine means he built a team. All he did so far is dismantle Isiah’s team with putrid returns. So let’s hold off on the shrine thing until we see what team he builds.

  • x-man

    True but Walsh will learned what Reinsdorf learned when he dismantled the bulls due to his ego. Having cap space and getting great players are two different matters.

    The Clippers had cap space and draft picks for years and still was a mess. I can still see Elgin Baylor at those lottery shows every year praying for a miracle that would never happen.

  • young hova
  • barnaby8787

    Can someone please tell me who our backup center is? Obviously not curry and harrington/bender are too weak…

  • totti

    “I thought he can clear up cap space while preserving the future.”

    What future, jordan hill at almost 3 millions and a pick which can’t be reasonably high in 2012?

    Come on

  • barnaby8787

    Maybe this means he’ll star over duhon (thank god)

  • donnie walsh

    really? giving up a future first to get lebron downgrades your grade of donnie? Really? So the equivalent of drafting Lebron James with that traded pick goes from 10 to 9.

  • barnaby8787

    For the record, i gave him a 6. I like the tmac deal, but I feel that instead of going for a blockbuster deal, he could have sent JJ and TD somewhere in exchange for a useless expiring on a team with cap room (OKC maybe?). At least, he got the job done though. I still don’t understand the nate trade. Giddens and Walker won’t crack the 8 man rotation and nate is much more prolific off of the bench than eddie house is. Props for saving money on darko though. I still think he needs a backup center. Push for Big Z, Gooden, or whoever else is out there. We need someone.

  • clyde fan

    I have a feeling we ar going to sign one max player and then trade for Steve Nash.

    Nash will want out once Amare is no longer around.

  • Marzak

    5. Not getting a PG at the deadline last year or over the summer when Duhon clearly shot his load after about 35 games puts him at a 5. We all knew we would be bad for 2 years but making us watch Duhon run the point for one and a half seasons without addressing it really annoyed people paying $$ for tickets (myself included). Also not sure if that Jeffries and Nate trade to Sacramento last year was really true but if so we could have unloaded Jeffries without losing picks or players all for a meaningless playoff push. 4-5 less wins and we’re looking at Tyreke Evans, Rubio or Curry on our team which is a nice carrot to lure a max free agent.

    If he fulfills his destiny this summer then it shoots up to a 9 and all is forgiven.

  • x-man

    Once again, it’s cheaper and better to just send the coach back to PHX.

  • Hydr0

    Maybe tmac can put the whole team on his back and win 22 in a row like he did with houston a couple of years ago LOL

  • Kwayry

    ” a pick which can’t be reasonably high in 2012″
    You had to add the “reasonably” because at this stage nobody knows, reasonably speaking. And you forgot the 2011 swap.
    2010 looked so far in 2004 and I am pretty sure Zeke thought that the 2010 pick will be reasonably high. Lo and behold it is not and it maybe John Wall. which could have solved out pg issues for a generation.

    The future is Hill and/or the picks. One or the other would have been fine with me.
    If you don’t see it now, you will if the Knicks suck in 2011 or 2012.

  • young hova

    Ouch

  • Dave the Rave

    I give DW a 9. He is digging out of a deep hole IT left him, jettisoning the riffraff and creating mega cap space. This summer is the time to really judge him. But for now he has done a great job in a very tough scene.

    Will be good to watch the young guys more. If Duhon would go away I’d be really happy.

  • young hova

    To point out the flaw with that statement:

    It was a protected pick when it was originally traded but the protections came off after 5 years. Also that was for the Marbury trade which included his gargantuan contract (which we thought he would help us so it was acceptable) as well as Penny’s huge useless contract. This although obviously can hurt if the pick turns out good isn’t locking us down into a bad contract while giving up the pick.

    That is why all these Marbury/Curry deal comparisons dont work. They not only sacrificed the future in picks but also in cap space, which this doesnt

  • harris

    ESPN is reporting that the Knicks are sending a second player with Nate Robinson to Boston. Any word on who that player is?

  • young hova

    Landry

  • HaS

    Damn, Tommy!!

    You can’t even just average the numbers out?

    I know you don’t work for MSG, but you’re not helping your cause if you are trying to prove you aren’t biased. LOL

    No shots.

  • HaS

    Start a thread rating Daryl Morey.

  • BiggieSmalls

    maybe now we can stop hearing that this coach doesnt have any of “his” players..

    I give Donnie a 5

    2 if he gets no one this summer and 9 of he brings in Lebron.

    win three titles and he gets a 10/

  • totti

    Kwary and others,

    I know it was a choice 60/40 or something, given that we had already a lot of cap.
    What i cannot conceive is that DW will be so stupid to bad spend the money if lbj does not come. and not build a soon top east team. And believe me, i watch almost all the games of toronto because of bargnani and i can tell you that bosh is certainly good, i would say much better than lee, but still not worthing a max, even less joe or amare.

    As for Gallo, i would like to say something: i’ve red many harsh comments on him and i don’t understand all those acid words. How can an almost rookie, foreigner and young guy can’t be pissed off to not get the ball every single fucking game and be frozen out by a bunch of expiring selfish veterans?
    Have you noted yesterday night that the wind has already changed? He begins to get the ball. This kid will be a star and a very important player for our future.
    I respect only an argument, even though i don’t agree: dw could draft lopez instead.

  • x-man

    Yeah but why kill Gallo’s confidence first then start getting him the ball?

    It was obvious to everyone but this coach and Duhon that Gallo wasn’t getting the ball.

  • Kwayry

    True to a point, but the comparisons are still valid and you made them
    “They not only sacrificed the future in picks …”
    That’s my whole point about the future and the picks to toti.

  • totti

    You completely right, for sure. I would never put gallo in the starting five at the beginning of season too. He was well coming from the bench. it was a mistake.

  • Kwayry

    My main argument is with the picks. JJ + hill and even add Al for cap relief is fine by me. With all the euphoria of wanting Bron or max player to sign here, there is an undeniable possibility, small as it may be, that they may not come, what do you do then?

    “What i cannot conceive is that DW will be so stupid to bad spend the money if lbj does not come”
    Joe Dumars was supposed to be a smart GM, look what happened to the pistons this season with all the cap space they had to spend.

    As to Gallo, I think he will be fine. Chandler and him are the only bright spots on an otherwise dreary season.

    I sincerely hope that Bron comes, it will solve all these issues.

  • Kwayry

    Supposedly he is a main draw for free agents in July. Let’s hope for his sake that it is true, otherwise, he is the fall guy.

  • Kwayry

    If the roles were reversed and he was the Knicks GM, he would have been burned alive. Sacrificing cap space for picks and Hill. what an idiot.

    /end sarcasm.

  • gdaibes

    i’m not gonna lie… trading away our ’09 draft pick [who hasnt gotten a consistant shot to prove himself yet], our 2012 1st rounder, and POTENTIALLY our 6th pick in 2011 [I believe the rockets can swap picks with us, as long as we aren't in the 5th spot or below] for a guy past his prime…. Sounds reminicent of a guy we all used to know named Isiah.

    before i get killed here… I KNOW that this was different in that we are doing it for the CAP SPACE, not for tmac, but as a knick fan I always think with the worst case scenario in mind…

    What if we dont sign lebron? or wade? and what if Bosh goes to play with wade in miami? then we’re stuck with an aging semi-star in Johnson [who isnt even the go to guy in crunch time in Atlanta. it's EX knick Jamal Crawford] and Amare Stoudemire or David Lee. Well we’ve already seen what this team looks like with Lee as one of our star players and Amare doesnt give us a whole lot more on the defensive end than Lee does and if you ask me, besides his explosiveness he doesnt have as good a skill set on the offensive end as Lee does.

    So back to my point. What if the free agent market doesnt treat us as well as we’re hoping? What if Joe Johnson and Amare wind up being our summer purchases? Can that tandem lead Gallo, Will, and Douglas along with 6 empty roster spaces and eddy curry to the promise land, let alone the playoffs? You tell me. And what about a point guard that can run D’antonis offense? Oh yeah. Sergio Rodriugez. My bad.

    LEBRON OR BUST boys and girls… Lebron or Bust.

  • jg1170

    Celtics knew the Knicks had no leverage.

    Nate was not gonna be resigned so why give up draft picks?

    Would you if you knew he was gonna be a FA next season and could sign him on the cheap?

    It’s not like were talking about Amare, it’s Nate.

  • BiggieSmalls

    the pick swap is Only protected if we get the 1st pick overall.. the 2012 is top 5 protected..

    Not optimal.. that’s why donnie has put it all on the line for July 2010

    if the FA market doesnt treat us well we will Suck in 2010 and then the Donnie count down will start.. Likely he will retire before the 2011 season if that happens..

    Despite some attempts to downplay it is Lebron or bust

    I dont want Donnie resigning Lee, getting Joe Johnson, filling out the roster with min guys and vets and calling it an off season

  • HaS

    And Kevin Martin and draft picks (potentially high ones if LeBron decides to stay on a winning team rather than get lured by the big lights.).

    Yeah, he sucks. Walsh fleeced him all the way

  • ds2488

    I gave im a 5. Guy has done an amazing job taking out the trash of the Zeke era, and we are now in the unprecedented situation of being in a relatively good situation with a boatload of cap space. He would be at an 8 or 9 right now if he hadn’t done such a damn awful job in the interim. No backup pg, Suckhon as our only pg, the Hughes dumb trade, the Bender signing, the not getting rid of Chucketts either last year or this year because of their love affair, and drafting Hill this year were all bad to horrible moves. But he starts to redeem himself come this summer, and getting Sergio out of the Tmac deal was a nice consolation prize for losing the draft picks in the trade. Trading JJ is a miracle in and of itself, good job DW.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    yall wilding

    donnie grade is coming this summer

    rite now he basically had to choice but to give away HILL AN a first rounder in 2012..

    i can’t grade that trade but i can grade his clearing cap to a 8

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    i would really like to know who are the 300+ that gave him a 10

    a 10 is when he signs
    LEBRON OR WADE..

  • x-man

    lol. It was DVJ and Tommy voting many times!

  • CircleLimit4

    “really? giving up a future first to get lebron downgrades your grade of donnie?”

    First of all, he gave up a pick, possibly downgraded another AND gave up Hill. Y

    Secondly, you’re making the assumption that grabbing Lebron without giving up a pick was outside the realm of possibility. Unlikely? Yes but still possible. I think you’re missing the point of the scale and the meaning of “a perfect 10.” 10 is perfection. Getting Lebron without giving up a piece of the future is perfection. They don’t just give out shrines you know.

    “Really? So the equivalent of drafting Lebron James with that traded pick goes from 10 to 9.”

    When we could have an extra first rounder? Yes! And it’s not equivalent. We would be paying Lebron a LOT more than a rookie salary. That’s why the pick is a perfect 10, it not only plants a seed for the future, but is also an asset and a cheap way to fill out a roster.

    Again, we’re talking a Perfect 10 here. If a GM in Universe A gets a 10 for giving up a draft pick to sign Lebron, then what score do you give the GM in Universe B who got Lebron without giving up a pick?? This amp doesn’t go to 11.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    lol.

  • jho

    The same reality that gives A’s in college for a wide variety of excellence. Any situation we bag Lebron deserves a 10.

    I rated Donnie a 8 because he was able to accomplish his MO of clearing enough cap space for 2 max stars, but I think he gave a little too much plus was unable to jettison Eddy Curry.