Yesterday I wrote about the possibility of Donnie Walsh staying with the Indiana Pacers. Well, today that is not a possibility. Walsh will retire from his job as CEO of the Pacers, effective at the end of the season. He reportedly will sign a 3 year, $15 million contract with the New York Knicks.
Walsh has spent 24 seasons with the Indiana Pacers. Some were bad, some were good, and some were great. You always knew what to expect from Walsh the person and you had pretty much about the same idea with Walsh the business man. He was straight and to the point, he valued the fans as much as he valued his players, and he helped bring excitement to the city of Indianapolis with the teams that he assembled.
Walsh was quoted as saying:
"I'm completing what was my dream job, I have loved every single moment of this job, including the last few years when things have been more difficult."
I really believe it when he says that it was his dream job. He used to talk about how the job wasn't a job, but an obsession. When he spoke about it, you could feel his passion for what he was doing. At least until the last few years when he has had to work with Larry Bird.
Later on, Walsh talked about the timing to leave:
"My real reason is, I think I've been here too long. It's not healthy for the franchise. I started thinking that the last two or three years. But you also want to see things get better."
I think that with Walsh doing the job without Bird, the team would be much better off than they are today.
Good luck with the Knicks or whoever you decide to sign with. It's been a pleasure watching your teams the last couple decades.
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Who was more responsible for Ron Artest? I always looked at Artest as an ideal player for the program when he was brought in and was really disappointed at the way thing ended. Since his time with us marked the beginning of the end, I was wondering who was more responsible.