Donnie Walsh

Joseph Donald Walsh Jr. (born March 1, 1941) is a front office adviser of the Indiana Pacers and a former professional basketball coach. He also served as President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.

Early life and education Walsh was born in Manhattan, New York City, and attended Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, New York City. Walsh was recruited to play college basketball at the University of North Carolina for then head coach Frank McGuire. After McGuire was forced out following NCAA violations, Walsh was a senior captain on Dean Smith's first team in 1961. Walsh was selected by the San Francisco Warriors in the 11th round of the 1962 NBA draft (after the Warriors moved from Philadelphia), but never played in the NBA. Walsh earned both a bachelor's degree and a law degree at UNC. While attending law school, he served as an assistant coach on Coach Dean Smith's staff at UNC. He turned down opportunities to practice law in New York City in order to continue to coach basketball. Walsh immediately recognized the expensive long-term contracts the Knicks carried. On November 21, 2008, he traded Jamal Crawford for Al Harrington of the Golden State Warriors. Then, he traded Mardy Collins and Zach Randolph for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas of the Los Angeles Clippers. Though Mobley retired of a heart condition, his contract, as well as those of Harrington and Thomas, expired at the end of the 2009–2010 NBA season, decreasing the Knicks' payroll by $27 million and giving them enough cap space to sign anyone notable from the heralded free agent class of 2010 which included NBA players such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Joe Johnson.

Walsh's first major signing came on July 8, 2010, when he signed Amar'e Stoudemire to a five-year, $100 million contract. In the 2010–2011 season, Walsh made a multi-player trade with Denver involving star players Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups coming to the Knicks in exchange for a few players, including Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari, and undisclosed amounts of cash.

On June 3, 2011, Walsh resigned as general manager, but remained with the team as a consultant.

Return to the Pacers On June 27, 2012, Walsh returned to the Pacers as President of Basketball Operations as Larry Bird stepped down. In 2013, Walsh helped the Pacers win the Central Division and reach the NBA Eastern Conference finals, where the team lost to eventual NBA Champion Miami Heat.

On June 27, 2013, Bird returned to the Pacers as President of Basketball Operations; Walsh stepped down from his role as president and accepted a position as a consultant. Walsh still attends Pacers games, usually seated near Bird and team general manager Kevin Pritchard.

Head coaching record