Glen Grunwald Reportedly Likely To Remain Knicks’ Interim GM Through 2011-12 Season

The Knicks are tenatively scheduled to play in the league’s very first game of the season against the Celtics on Christmas Day.

Walsh told the media he could have completed a one-year deal with the appropriate zest for the job, but that doing so wouldn’t have made sense in terms of the Knicks’ rebuild timeline and the league’s current labor situation. Walsh also said he didn’t think Isiah Thomas, a Knicks consultant and Walsh’s predecessor at the franchise’s helm, had anything to do with the current situation. He thanked Knicks franchise owner James Dolan, and said he’d always been treated fairly.

But as Walsh completed his press session, multiple outlets began reporting that the Knicks’ latest offer on a contract extension included a pay cut of 40-60 percent.

According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Walsh’s contract offer from owner James Dolan included a 40-percent pay cut, a massive number for anyone. Isola also reports that Walsh was asked to submit a list of replacement general manager candidates two months ago, and Dolan would name the GM from that list. The list included Toronto’s Bryan Colangelo and ESPN announcer Mark Jackson. Finally, Dolan’s misgivings with Walsh go all the way back to him granting an interview to Mike Lupica, according to Isola.

On the surface, this seems like madness, but it is the New York Knicks we’re talking about.

But the questions about the nature of Walsh’s decision also bring into question the fate of Mike D’Antoni, the team’s only head coach under Walsh. Will the Knicks and their new decision-maker decide to make a move on the bench as well?

There’s a hint in the Knicks’ statement on the Walsh decision. The final line of Dolan’s statements reads as follows:

In fact, on Wednesday, Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reported the Walsh and Dolan had actually reached an agreement, which just needed to be finalized by the Cablevision board.

Instead of signatures, we have what would appear to be a path toward retirement. The Knicks are a leaky bathtub, and some version of what happened to separate Walsh from power will come out soon. But that won’t lessen the shock factor, not when this looked so certain from so many angles.

None of this definitively means Thomas will swoop in again, but both are discouraging signs for Knicks fans hoping to move on from Thomas once and for all.

Walsh took over the franchise in the aftermath of the Isiah Thomas era. Walsh came aboard in 2008, replacing Thomas at the helm of the front office. He hired Mike D’Antoni as the head coach, and methodically tore down the Knicks’ exceedingly high payroll in order to make a run at the vaunted free agent class of 2010.

For more on the Knicks, visit Posting And Toasting and SB Nation New York.

Separate from Walsh, the Knicks have a decision to make on Chauncey Billups by Friday. The Knicks can retain Billups for a $14 million salary for next season, or waive him. If the team waives the veteran point guard, New York would owe Billups $3.7 million. The Knicks are ridiculously shallow at point guard, and there are few good point guards available in free agency.

So, should Dolan keep the current regime? I argued Monday that it’s nearly impossible to gauge coaches and judge their performance, at least in a comprehensive but macro way. But for Walsh, the decision-maker and the man tasked with cleaning up the Knicks’ payroll situation, it seems like a no-brainer.