Money continues to burn hole in Garden's pockets

May 10, 2008

There was a recent quote from superagent David Falk that bears repeating now that Mike D'Antoni has leapfrogged Mark Jackson, Avery Johnson, John Wooden and the ghost of Henry Iba to become coach of the Knicks.

Recent columns

• Micheal Ray Richardson puts troubled past behind him

  May 10, 2008

  While the NBA coaching carousel spins out of control, and while the teams that don't need new coaches have been showing why in the playoffs, Micheal Ray Richardson has been busy.

• LeBron will be nightmare for Celtics

  May 5, 2008

  With 3:05 left in the third quarter yesterday, Kevin Garnett converted a layup, absorbed a foul from Zaza Pachulia (which means "mindless antagonist" in Russian) and stood under the basket to tell the fans what they already knew.

• LeBron could be a nightmare for Celtics

  May 4, 2008

  With 3:05 left in the third quarter Sunday, Kevin Garnett converted a layup, absorbed a foul from Zaza Pachulia (which means "mindless antagonist" in Russian) and stood under the basket to tell the fans what they already knew.

• Walsh must take his time in picking Knicks coach

  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.

• Walsh must take his time in picking Knicks coach

  May 3, 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.

• Brown back in North Carolina, but for how long?

  April 30, 2008

  The people of North Carolina learned a lot about Larry Brown yesterday, if they weren't around for his days in Chapel Hill or his stint as the coach of the ABA's Carolina Cougars. They learned he's an earnest, soft-spoken man. They learned he comes across as humble. They learned he loves basketball, really cares about it, and that the job he has right now (check your watch) is the best job in the world.

• Brown back in North Carolina, but for how long?

  April 29, 2008

  The people of North Carolina learned a lot about Larry Brown Tuesday, if they weren't around for his days in Chapel Hill or his stint as the coach of the ABA's Carolina Cougars. They learned he's an earnest, soft-spoken man. They learned he comes across as humble. They learned he loves basketball, really cares about it, and that the job he has right now (check your watch) is the best job in the world.

• Brown could revive hoops in Charlotte

  April 27, 2008

  Of the "half-dozen" jobs Larry Brown is considering, it is no secret that the one that makes the most sense is coach and president of the Charlotte Bobcats.

• Next town for Larry Brown could be Charlotte

  April 26, 2008

  Of the "half-dozen" jobs Larry Brown is considering, it is no secret that the one that makes the most sense is coach and president of the Charlotte Bobcats.

• Front office top priority

  April 20, 2008

  For years, what has transpired behind the curtain at Madison Square Garden has been regarded by the rest of the NBA - that is, the normal teams - with suspicion and scorn. Mostly, the Knicks have cornered the basketball marketplace in attracting morbid curiosity.

• Walsh should buy out Coney Island hot dog

  April 13, 2008

  Now that Isiah Thomas' days with the Knicks - or at least his days in a position of any authority with the Knicks - are coming to an end, Stephon Marbury has announced that he wants to finish out his contract in New York. The only problem is, that's Donnie Walsh's decision, not Marbury's.

• What will it take for Knicks to get LeBron?

  April 12, 2008

  There are plenty of contracts to shed and tea leaves to read until the summer of 2010 - the summer of LeBron. But it's never too early to start wondering what it will take for the Knicks to lure the player on his way to being the best of his generation to New York.

• Excruciatingly slow end for Isiah era

  April 7, 2008

  The chills you got if you were sitting at Madison Square Garden a few minutes before 8 o'clock last night, when Patrick Ewing got his ovation - that's the feeling you want in this place again.

• Can new Knicks boss Walsh afford to keep Isiah?

  April 3, 2008

  There was a moment about halfway through his 25-minute session with writers yesterday when Donnie Walsh paused and momentarily was rendered speechless. The gravelly voice, the New York poetry in the way he pronounces "idear" and says "Bammo!" to emphasize a point, suddenly stopped.

• 76ers' work earns King a new court

  March 30, 2008

  When Billy King was fired as the Philadelphia 76ers' general manager after a 5-12 start, two thoughts occurred to me.

• Is Billy King the right No. 2 for Knicks?

  March 29, 2008

  When Billy King was fired as the Philadelphia 76ers' general manager after a 5-12 start, two thoughts occurred to me.

• Don't be surprised if Isiah stays with Knicks

  March 27, 2008

  When his career was on the ropes in the summer of 2000, after his failed power play in Toronto and the CBA fiasco, Isiah Thomas needed someone to rescue him. Donnie Walsh obliged, hiring Thomas to coach the Indiana Pacers.

• Walsh's addition to Knicks only brings questions

  March 26, 2008

  As usual, there are far more questions than answers about the Knicks as they do what they do best: Turn what is supposed to be a cleansing, franchise-shaping experience into a circus.

• Getting Walsh is no Garden party

  March 25, 2008

  So Donnie Walsh lost his power play with ownership, and the plan he announced months ago - that this season would be his last with the Pacers - is the way it's going to be.

• Knicks' Thomas winning game of Survivor

  March 23, 2008

  In the alternate universe discovered, settled and inhabited by the Knicks, the search for Isiah Thomas' replacement as coach and team president is about to enter its fifth month.

• Houston's streak a matter of Rocket science

  March 15, 2008

  When you ask Daryl Morey a question - such as, why have the Houston Rockets won 21 consecutive games? - you get the feeling he is punching numbers into a multi-dimensional statistical grid before he gives the answer.

• Dolan must look deeper for Knicks' next GM

  March 13, 2008

  On the anniversary of Isiah Thomas' contract extension with

• LeBron's great, but Kobe's my MVP

  March 9, 2008

  The MVP campaigning is in full swing, with Kobe Bryant putting up 52 points on national TV last week and LeBron James dropping 50 on the Knicks Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

• LeBron's great, but Kobe's MVP

  March 8, 2008

  The MVP campaigning is in full swing, with Kobe Bryant putting up 52 points on national TV last Sunday and LeBron James dropping 50 on the Knicks Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

• LeBron shows Steph how game should be played

  March 6, 2008

  The way the Garden lavished applause and respect on LeBron James after the last of his 50 points went through the basket, it only confirmed how desperate this city's basketball populace is for something - someone - to cheer.

• Marbury wants to get away from Knicks

  March 2, 2008

  Stephon Marbury's last season in New York - and make no mistake, that's exactly what this is - could not have been any more of a nightmare. It is a nightmare that Marbury wants to see come to a merciful end.

• Knicks need Thorn in side of Thomas

  February 24, 2008

  Rod Thorn did what any smart NBA executive would do last week, getting maximum value under the circumstances for an aging - albeit Hall of Fame-caliber - point guard who didn't want to be with the Nets anymore. The jury still is very much out on whether Jason Kidd's impact in Dallas will be worth what the Mavericks sent to New Jersey for him.

• Knicks' fix is across Hudson

  February 23, 2008

  Rod Thorn did what any smart NBA executive would do last week, getting maximum value under the circumstances for an aging, albeit Hall of Fame-caliber point guard who didn't want to be here anymore. The jury is still very much out on whether Jason Kidd's impact in Dallas will be worth what the Mavericks sent to New Jersey for him.

• Swap a good start

  February 20, 2008

  This is what the Nets should have done after last season - blown it up and started over.

• Kidd stuck with bad end of a bargain

  February 17, 2008

  You can just see it now: Jason Kidd raises the All-Star MVP trophy above his head and the camera zooms in for a closeup, like one of those "going to Disney World" moments that Super Bowl MVPs experience.

• Hunter no longer queasy about NBA All-Stars partying in Big Easy

  February 10, 2008

  It was almost a year ago, with the NBA reeling from a disastrous All-Star Game in Las Vegas, when NBA Players Association president Billy Hunter raised some serious concerns about bringing the event to New Orleans in 2008.

• NBA All-Stars can't afford another black eye

  February 9, 2008

  It was almost a year ago, with the NBA reeling from a disastrous All-Star game in Las Vegas, when NBA Players Association president Billy Hunter raised some serious concerns about bringing the event to New Orleans in 2008.