Published: March 28, 2008 10:16 am            

Column: Pacers hopefully don't fly south under Bird

ANDERSON, Ind. — If the rumor is true and Donnie Walsh soon will be calling the shots for the New York Knicks, he just stepped off the Titanic in exchange for an aisle seat on the Hindenburg.

Walsh, who poured his heart and soul into shaping the Indiana Pacers into one of the NBA’s elite franchises until Ron Artest ruined it one especially ugly night in Michigan three seasons ago, reportedly has being pursued by the hapless New York Knicks.

Goodbye, America’s heartland. Hello, America’s heartless.

Walsh turned 67 earlier this month. It’s relatively safe to assume that if he bolts following the completion of Indiana’s 2007-08 season, the Big Apple is the going-away party for one of professional sports’ finest and most-underrated architects.

Know what? He’ll probably succeed. In the NBA Eastern Conference, where everyone’s a playoff contender, the Knicks are a few shrewd offseason and draft day maneuvers from becoming relevant again.

Meanwhile, the shrinking fraternity of Pacers supporters, whether loyal, bandwagon or otherwise, wonder when their day will come.

Walsh’s decision to finally separate himself from the franchise and hand the reins to team president Larry Bird excites and frightens me.

There is no disputing Bird knows the game of basketball inside and out, but Hall of Fame talent on the court far too infrequently translates into front-office genius (see Kevin McHale and Michael Jordan).

The light bulb above Bird’s head surely lights up many, many times a day as he mulls over potential personnel moves capable of getting the Pacers back on track and bodies back inside Conseco Fieldhouse.

People in Bird’s position are paid to take the really good what-ifs and attempt to make them reality. It’s stressful work, which is probably the reason Bird sometimes looks much older than his 51 years.

But recent history shows it can be done.

The Boston Celtics are the obvious example, just not a very realistic blueprint. If Bird lived to be 139, he couldn’t lure the likes of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Indianapolis in the offseason the way Boston somehow did.

Besides, it’s not always about the big name. I consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to the NBA, but realized I had heard of only seven of the 14 members of the Golden State Warriors (three of the seven are former Pacers, which could be construed as cheating).

Yet the Warriors, led by guards Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, are a force in the mighty Western Conference.

The Greg Oden-less Portland Trail Blazers probably won’t make the playoffs this season, but just wait. Having recently drafted keepers LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy and signed tough-minded free agent point guard Steve Blake, Portland has set itself up nicely for the future.

Some NBA presidents and general managers possess the golden touch. Bird had it as a player and during his three-year run as the Pacers’ head coach from 1997 through 2000.

Administratively speaking, Bird to date has been accused of more airballs and rim-bruising bricks than anything else. It will be interesting to see how he fares now that the buck stops with him and only him.

Remember, in a couple of weeks Elvis leaves the building. For good.



Mike Beas writes for The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Ind

        

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