After hearing that Brandon Jennings had 55 points tonight – 55!!!! – can it be any clearer how badly Donnie has been screwing up. As far as I can tell, he’s betting everything on signing Lebron. Between, building a roster completely unfit to play for Mike D’Antonio (as Donnie called him when introducing him as Knicks coach – did he even know who he was hiring as coach?!), and completely screwing up the 2009 draft, it seems pretty obviously he isn’t paying attention to anything else.
How did Donnie not draft Jennings?! It was so clear to anyone paying attention to the Knicks last year that Donnie should draft a PG this past summer. And, I just can’t get over the fact that Donnie, as he’s unbelievably admitted – didn’t get a chance to see or scout Jennings, aside from the workout. What a joke. I think the average Knicks fan scouted Jennings more than Walsh. You know, I would bet just about anything that Isiah would’ve drafted Jennings. With this season turning out as terribly as it has, the Donnie Walsh era might actually be worse than the Isiah era.
Here’s what Donnie’s done:
- Signed Chris Duhon for 2 years to run 7 Seconds or Less? Huh? (yes, he was spectacular for the first half of last season, but he has looked like the terrible, old, slow dude in a rec league who doesn’t give a crap ever since) — BAD
- Drafted Gallo. I wholeheartedly approve, even over Eric Gordon. — GOOD (maybe made me overconfident in Walsh’s judgement)
- Traded Crawford for Harrington. You know what? Last year, I’d have said this trade was a wash, but not anymore. Harrington is the most frustrating player I’ve ever watched. I’d rather have Jamal Crawford. But, Donnie saved the Knicks 2010 cap money. — BAD
- Traded Randolph for Tim Thomas and Mobley. The way I remember it, Randolph was playing surprisingly well for D’Antoni and even seemed to be sharing the ball a little bit more. His defense sucked, but not any more than our defense sucks now. Even after Mobley’s injury/condition was discovered and the Knicks had a chance to rescind or restructure the trade, Donnie didn’t want to take the chance of not being able to get rid of Randolph’s albatross of a contract and clearing up 2010 cap space. Knicks lose any realistic chance of making the playoffs — BAD
- Traded Tim Thomas, who became a versatile, productive, glue guy on the team, for Larry Hughes because we had no guard depth after the Mobley retirement. Hughes was completely lost and the Knicks coincidentally collapsed for the rest of the season. — BAD
- Traded Malik Rose for Chris Wilcox. No impact. — WASH
- Going into the 2009 draft, desperately needing a PG or a defensive presence in the middle, in a draft full of PG’s but completely lacking in big men, Donnie fails to move up to secure Curry or Rubio. Fails to sufficiently scout Jennings and passes. Doesn’t select Ty Lawson, a quick, winning, 3-point shooting PG. Doesn’t move back in the draft. Instead selects PF (pretend C) project Hill, a classic big man reach, as insurance to losing Lee. I guess. Or in the hopes that he’ll figure out how to play D in the pros… Or something… I still don’t f’ing get it! — HORRIBLE! (No offense to Hill, I think he has promise, but he absolutely shouldn’t have been the pick)
- Also in the 2009 draft: Buys LA’s 29th pick for $3 mil, selects Toney Douglas. We’re sold on his being a PG (just like being sold that Hill is a C), but despite being a small SG, Douglas has been a contributor and competitor and a keeper — GOOD (Though I should note, we could’ve picked Jennings with the #8, still bought the #29th pick and selected super productive #37 pick Blair instead — that would’ve been great)
- Traded Q for Milicic. Seemed like a good trade, but D’Antoni doesn’t give Milicic much of a chance. Q loses a ton of weight and becomes a valuable piece for the Heat. — WASH
- Failed to make any signings or trades this summer, despite a need to shake things up. Works out a bunch of over-the-hill PG’s. Wait, I thought Donnie was going to get a PG in the draft?… — BAD
- Signed Lee and Robinson to 1 year deals. Thank god he had the sense to not overpay for guys that didn’t have any offers. They definitely don’t look like the money they were asking for. — GOOD
So, Donnie had two goals when he was hired: 1) To make the Knicks competitive enough to compete for a playoff spot. Grade: FAIL. 2) Clear enough cap space for Lebron or some major free agent signing(s). TBD
All I know is: I’ve never been more sick to be a Knicks fan. This franchise is a laughingstock and there is only one thing that can save us. To quote Fox Moulder, ‘I want to believe’
