Donnie Walsh
Donnie Walsh
Joseph Donald "Donnie" Walsh, Jr.is a Front Office Adviser of the Indiana Pacers and a former professional basketball coach. He is also the former President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth1 March 1941
hear waiting
We just started the process, but I'm waiting to hear what they have to say.
certain deal help hurts knew plausible player wait
I don't know that we were predisposed to wait a long time. But we knew it made it more plausible to do what we want to get done. There are certain things you can't do, like get a player to help you now in a deal that hurts you in the future.
fresh guy hope maybe needs ronnie sacramento team
Maybe this was not the right team for a guy like Ronnie. Really, Ronnie couldn't get out from under it and I hope he does in Sacramento because everyone needs a fresh start.
asset greatest lift team
Magic's greatest asset is his enthusiasm, the way he can lift his team up.
acts guy might ronnie thinks
I think Ronnie is a guy who acts first and thinks later. If he were to do it over again, he might do it differently.
certainly playing
I think he certainly showed he could play when he got playing time.
nba
Reggie is the one who made our transformation to the NBA real.
behind past stop
I think that it is important for us to put our past behind us and stop these distractions.
far felt gone learn ronnie support
My way has always been to try to support players. If anything, I've probably gone too far with Ronnie because I felt like he was going to learn how to do things.
anyone deal easier force rule scenario
I don't think anyone ever thought this rule would be used for this kind of situation. But having been through it, I can tell you it's an easier way to deal with it because it doesn't force you into doing something you don't want to do. It allows you to play the scenario out.
affect blown far felt gone learn ronnie teammates
If anything, I've probably gone too far with Ronnie because I felt like he was going to learn how to do things. At that point, which I thought was true, that as long as he was here, anything he did would get blown up and affect his teammates and affect everybody.
apart basketball behind break fine living past somewhere start stop team time
He's always living down his past in this franchise, and so are we. So I do think it's a time to kind of break apart and see if he can get a new start somewhere else. I think it's very important for us to put our past behind us and to stop these distractions so that what I think is a fine basketball team can go on.
chance practice team
He's been cleared. It's all set. He's been working out on his own, separately, all along. Now he'll get a chance to practice with the team again.
adds among athletes city elite gave great indiana legacy played puts tradition
What he gave to this franchise, this city and this state, for 18 years, puts him among the elite athletes to have played professional sports. No. 31 in the rafters adds another legacy to the great tradition of Indiana basketball.