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Knicks' Walsh casts wider net to include Person

BY ALAN HAHN | alan.hahn@newsday.com

April 24, 2008

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The wish list that Donnie Walsh is compiling will include Chuck Person, a Walsh protégé who is currently an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. An NBA executive told Newsday yesterday that Walsh is expected to contact Kings president Geoff Petrie for permission to interview Person, who spent six of his 13 seasons as a player with the Indiana Pacers.

Mark Jackson is believed to be Walsh's top choice, but unlike in 1997, when Walsh said he knew he only needed to interview Larry Bird, Walsh plans to meet with a handful of candidates, even if in the end it is merely to quell any backlash for hiring an inexperienced coach without conducting a search.

Walsh has gone through back channels to gauge the interest and availability of several candidates who are currently employed by other teams.

"I've talked to quite a few people, not so much that are candidates, but [other] people about the candidates," Walsh said. "And there are some guys that I probably will call up their franchise and ask to see if I can get permission."

Celtics associate head coach Tom Thibodeau is one of those candidates, as is Person, who spent the past season with the Kings under Reggie Theus.

As of last night, according to another NBA executive, Walsh had not yet requested permission from the respective franchises to speak with either candidate.

Person will interview for the head coach position, but a person with knowledge of the situation said the 43-year-old would also be open to joining the Knicks as an assistant coach. He and Jackson have a good relationship and Person's loyalties to Walsh are even stronger.

Person spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach on Rick Carlisle's bench with the Pacers. Before that he worked for Walsh as a special assistant to the CEO/president of basketball operations. Person, who was selected fourth overall in the 1986 draft, was Walsh's first draft pick as general manager of the Pacers. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1986-87.

As far as the leading candidate goes, Walsh and Jackson are expected to meet soon - if not today then early next week after Jackson works Games 3 and 4 of the Spurs-Suns series for ABC/ESPN. Walsh has already agreed to give longtime Knicks assistant Herb Williams a formal interview.

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