The management:
Right now we have two people in charge of running the basketball operations of the Indiana Pacers. Donnie Walsh & Larry Bird. Although Bird has the title of being in charge of basketball operations he made it very clear in the post season interview, which many of us have known all along anyway, that Donnie Walsh was his boss & he had to report to him.
Take that however you want but for some of us it still means the product on the floor is at the very least something the Walsh approves of.
Let's look at each of them starting with Bird.
The Good: He say's the right things & as we all know he has a kick butt take no crap attitude. At least he makes it appear that way (we'll talk more about this below). He seems to have an idea of what he wants on the floor & does not seem to be afraid to criticize his coach for not playing the players or the style he wants. He still has some pull with the players because of who he was on the floor & he seems to have the respect of the league office.
The bad: The kick butt take no crap attitude may all be a facade. There is just no way to know this yet so that is why I listed it in both sections. He may very well have been willing to jettison the jackass off of our team last season but was stopped from above. Then again maybe he wasn't ready. All we are getting now is the afterthoughts of these guys so who knows. He has already proven to be to slow to take some definitive action with the team. I say that because it was apperant to almost anybody that by the end of February that Carlisle had lost the team & it was apperant that maybe some of the team were trying to get Rick fired. Bird should have either fired Carlisle (which he wasn't going to do) or he should have given the "your not going to get the coach fired" speech right there & then instead of waiting till there was just a couple of weeks left in the regular season.
He has stated that he will take more of a hands on role next season. I ask why? Why does he think he needs to? Conversely why did he wait till next season to do it? This ship was falling apart early last season & Larry decided to tour Europe. We have scouts for that job so when the ship was rocking back & forth why was he not right back over here to try & stabilize it?
The outlook: Who knows. I don't think we will ever truely know what Larry Bird will be like or want until Donnie Walsh is gone. It may be great or it may suck but there is just no way to know.
Donnie Walsh:
The Good: Stepped up (finally) & took care of Ron. I know he had no problem in doing it but in reality it should have been Bird over here taking the heat for Ron? Beyond that the list of good for Walsh is long so I will name a few & I'm sure others will add to this. Good manager of business, loyal to his players, liked by agents, respected by league office, decent eye for talent, etc., etc.
The Bad: I will do my best here to be fair & non-biased. He is conservative to a fault (I don't even think his largest supporters can deny this), he sometimes over pays our players to much. The big one though is he stood by (well he actually participated in) while our franchise was being taken over by very talented yet very mentally unstable players. He rarel makes player moves unless it is forced upon him.
I'll stop because I think that is enough coming from me, if anybody else wants to add feel free.
The outlook: This supposedly his last season, I don't know if it is or if it is not. His legacy in Indiana is intact & in fact has been since about the 1989 season. There are still so many people around that remember not making the playoffs that making the playoffs has become the end all be all of the team. So therefor the WalshWarriors will always hold him in high regard. I think he will help guide Bird through this season & then maybe he will slip off into retirement. But as long as he is around he will still hold the trump cards.
Overall:
It's time for one or the other. We have to many people with to many ideas on how this team should be run. The owners may not want to pay Rick & another coach & it is obvious that Rick & Larry do not agree on how the team should play or who should be playing in what position.
This creats conflict & it sets up for another unstable season to come, IMO. I think the Simons need to just bite the bullit (as they have so many other times during the Walsh years) & let them fire the coach. Having a coach who has a guranteed job yet no extension just makes it so that the players are in limbo again. This is the last thing we need.
I know that Larry & Donnie supposedly have this symbiotic relationship & that is all well & good. But as Bob Marley used to say "one voice".
I think it's finally time to make the full fledged change over to Bird. I may or may not like what he is going to do but I think one voice is what is going to be required to right this ship.
Right now we have two people in charge of running the basketball operations of the Indiana Pacers. Donnie Walsh & Larry Bird. Although Bird has the title of being in charge of basketball operations he made it very clear in the post season interview, which many of us have known all along anyway, that Donnie Walsh was his boss & he had to report to him.
Take that however you want but for some of us it still means the product on the floor is at the very least something the Walsh approves of.
Let's look at each of them starting with Bird.
The Good: He say's the right things & as we all know he has a kick butt take no crap attitude. At least he makes it appear that way (we'll talk more about this below). He seems to have an idea of what he wants on the floor & does not seem to be afraid to criticize his coach for not playing the players or the style he wants. He still has some pull with the players because of who he was on the floor & he seems to have the respect of the league office.
The bad: The kick butt take no crap attitude may all be a facade. There is just no way to know this yet so that is why I listed it in both sections. He may very well have been willing to jettison the jackass off of our team last season but was stopped from above. Then again maybe he wasn't ready. All we are getting now is the afterthoughts of these guys so who knows. He has already proven to be to slow to take some definitive action with the team. I say that because it was apperant to almost anybody that by the end of February that Carlisle had lost the team & it was apperant that maybe some of the team were trying to get Rick fired. Bird should have either fired Carlisle (which he wasn't going to do) or he should have given the "your not going to get the coach fired" speech right there & then instead of waiting till there was just a couple of weeks left in the regular season.
He has stated that he will take more of a hands on role next season. I ask why? Why does he think he needs to? Conversely why did he wait till next season to do it? This ship was falling apart early last season & Larry decided to tour Europe. We have scouts for that job so when the ship was rocking back & forth why was he not right back over here to try & stabilize it?
The outlook: Who knows. I don't think we will ever truely know what Larry Bird will be like or want until Donnie Walsh is gone. It may be great or it may suck but there is just no way to know.
Donnie Walsh:
The Good: Stepped up (finally) & took care of Ron. I know he had no problem in doing it but in reality it should have been Bird over here taking the heat for Ron? Beyond that the list of good for Walsh is long so I will name a few & I'm sure others will add to this. Good manager of business, loyal to his players, liked by agents, respected by league office, decent eye for talent, etc., etc.
The Bad: I will do my best here to be fair & non-biased. He is conservative to a fault (I don't even think his largest supporters can deny this), he sometimes over pays our players to much. The big one though is he stood by (well he actually participated in) while our franchise was being taken over by very talented yet very mentally unstable players. He rarel makes player moves unless it is forced upon him.
I'll stop because I think that is enough coming from me, if anybody else wants to add feel free.
The outlook: This supposedly his last season, I don't know if it is or if it is not. His legacy in Indiana is intact & in fact has been since about the 1989 season. There are still so many people around that remember not making the playoffs that making the playoffs has become the end all be all of the team. So therefor the WalshWarriors will always hold him in high regard. I think he will help guide Bird through this season & then maybe he will slip off into retirement. But as long as he is around he will still hold the trump cards.
Overall:
It's time for one or the other. We have to many people with to many ideas on how this team should be run. The owners may not want to pay Rick & another coach & it is obvious that Rick & Larry do not agree on how the team should play or who should be playing in what position.
This creats conflict & it sets up for another unstable season to come, IMO. I think the Simons need to just bite the bullit (as they have so many other times during the Walsh years) & let them fire the coach. Having a coach who has a guranteed job yet no extension just makes it so that the players are in limbo again. This is the last thing we need.
I know that Larry & Donnie supposedly have this symbiotic relationship & that is all well & good. But as Bob Marley used to say "one voice".
I think it's finally time to make the full fledged change over to Bird. I may or may not like what he is going to do but I think one voice is what is going to be required to right this ship.
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