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Walsh must take his time in picking Knicks coach

Ken Berger

May 4, 2008

We still can't be sure about Donnie Walsh as president of the Knicks. All we know is that Jerry Seinfeld would love him.

So far, Walsh is running the organization that does nothing.

That's fine with me, because I'd rather see Walsh take his time and hire nobody than watch him rush and hire the wrong guy.

At first I thought Walsh was interested only in people who are on TV in his search for a coach and GM. This made me wonder what was taking him so long to interview Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, Letterman and Oprah.

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But Walsh is running the Knicks differently now, isn't he? He is interviewing candidates, biding his time, not rushing into any decisions that could take years to clean up. Right?

The question I have is this: Has Walsh's supposed interest in Avery Johnson, Mike D'Antoni, Rick Carlisle and Tom Thibodeau signaled that he is performing a diligent search? Or is this merely a show so that when Walsh hires Mark Jackson, no one can accuse him of failing to investigate other candidates?

I hope the answer is behind curtain No. 1, because Knicks fans deserve better. No offense to Walsh, but he needs to look harder for a coach and GM than James Dolan did for a president.

Jackson has been anointed the favorite in the media. Thus, plenty of brownie points are being earned by those who soon will be calling for him to be carted out to the MSG loading dock with the trash if he doesn't succeed.

For Walsh's sake, I hope these vague signs of interest in more experienced candidates are more than merely a distraction from his real intention - to hire Jackson.

Let's allow the hypothetical coaching carousel to play out, shall we? Dallas hires Carlisle, the Bulls snag Johnson and D'Antoni winds up staying in Phoenix. Add Milwaukee's hiring of Scott Skiles and assume that the Knicks hire Jackson. A strong argument could be made that when the music stops, the four other teams will have a better coach than the Knicks do.

This is why I hope Jackson is not a foregone conclusion as the Knicks' most important coaching hire in 20 years, but rather a smoke screen for the real No. 1 choice: Thibodeau.

I understand why everyone loves Jackson. I like him too, and I think he will be a very, very good coach someday.

But am I missing something with Thibodeau? What's wrong with a defensive mastermind and former Jeff Van Gundy assistant to restore credibility - not to mention the rugged, unselfish mind-set that has been missing since Van Gundy left?

I hope I am reading not only tea leaves but Walsh's mind.