In 49 other states, it's just sports.
It never made much sense to Pacers fans when, in April of 2008, longtime Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh left the franchise he'd built into a powerhouse and took a similar job with the New York Knicks. Walsh had been with the Pacers for 24 hours, starting there as an assistant coach before becoming the general manager in 1986. He made several franchise-defining moves, such as drafting Reggie Miller over Steve Alford in 1987, trading for point guard Mark Jackson, and convincing Larry Bird to get into coaching.
When Walsh left in '08, Bird had already transitioned from the coaching bench to the front office. He took over Walsh's job as overall personnel head of the Pacers, and since then has presided over some of the worst Pacers teams in recent memory. Recently, the coach hand-picked by Bird, Jim O'Brien, was fired not because Bird wanted him gone (supposedly), but because owner Herb Simon was tired of O'Brien's ineptness as a coach. This has lead many to speculate that Bird will not return as Pacers president next year after his contract expires.
With Walsh currently embattled in an odd, seemingly surreal power struggle in New York, with former-Pacers coach and Knicks GM Isiah Thomas resurfacing once again as an influential player in the decisions of seemingly incompetent owner James Dolan, the door is open for Walsh to return to Indiana after the 2010-2011 season ends.
Many feel Walsh will walk through that door, returning to the franchise he very likely calls 'home.'
Walsh has done an exemplary job rebuilding the charred remains that were the NY Knicks. The smoldering ruins he inherited were scorched by Thomas, who was disgraced after his front office was found guilty of sexual harassing an employee. Walsh took control in 2008 and politely shoved Thomas aside. Isiah 'left' in 2009 and eventually took the job as coach of Florida International's program.
But, according sources talking to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports, Thomas will return to the Knicks in some capacity next season, installing a 'puppet' GM to replace Walsh who, like Bird, has a contract expiring at season's end.
Donnie Walsh's tenure in Indiana was, by no means, free of low-points. He placed Indiana in the 'Cap Hell' that Larry Bird has so laboriously dug the franchise out of since Walsh left. Walsh signed Jermaine O'Neal and Austin Croshere to max contracts they clearly weren't worth. He drafted Jamal Tinsley one spot before the Spurs took Tony Parker. He invested in Ron Artest before Ron Artest invested his fist in a fan's face that fateful night in Auburn Hills in 2004.
And, quite famously, Walsh hired Isiah Thomas as Pacers head coach over Rick Carlisle (a former assistant under Bird) in 2000 only to fire Thomas and replace him with Carlisle in 2003.
Should Larry Bird 'retire' at season's end and Donnie Walsh return as CEO of the Pacers, it would be a long, strange road back for Walsh. He groomed Bird to be his successor. Should he replace Bird, and should Isiah Thomas return to the Knicks in any sort of authoritarian capacity, the 'rabbit hole' weirdness that is NBA front office jumbling will reach new heights (or lows, depending on your P.O.V.)
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