Larry Bird as a coach in Donnie Walsh's view

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1241249


Chats with Donnie Walsh are never a bad idea. The Knicks head of basketball operations is simply a decent fellow unburdened by the overt insecurity of many in his profession. He’s open, honest and funny, and one never fails to take something away from the discussion.

So it was that we took the opportunity to chat with him Wednesday. Soon, Walsh was explaining that Larry Bird was an even better coach than commonly perceived and that Bird had taken more than a few steps down the aisle with Washington in 2003 before deciding to move into the Pacers front office.

Bird already had been offered the Indiana coaching job by then-Pacer general manager Walsh in 1997. Bird never had coached before, but Walsh was more than willing to take a shot on bringing the legend back to his home state after his time as a special assistant for the Celtics [team stats].

“I’ll never forget that meeting,” Walsh said. “We sat down and talked and he spent 45 minutes telling me what he was going to do from the first day of training camp to the last day of the season.

“And when I look back on it, that’s exactly what he did. Everything. Everything.”

What did that entail?

“He went over everything from how he was going to run practices to what each player needed to do to get better,” Walsh said. “He was totally prepared.

“He started by saying he had to hire two really good assistants because he’s never done this before. And then he said exactly what he was going to do on the first day of practice, and he went from there.”

Walsh said there wasn’t a single facet left unplanned.

“Larry established things and stayed with them,” he said. “He had practice the same time every time. Our team left for the plane the same time every time. . . . It created a routine, and the players, without even knowing it, started playing like that. He made them understand what they had to do and he made them do it by habit - and that carried over onto the floor in games. They knew what to do.

“He gave them a lot of freedom, but he gave them structure, too. I thought he was great.”

After Bird hired Dick Harter and Rick Carlisle as his defensive and offensive assistants, respectively, the notion arose that he was more of an overseer in the operation.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Walsh said. “Larry was involved with everything. He was totally hands on. I mean, he let the coaches have their say, but he was in on everything. He was the first guy out for practice, and he would not leave if there was a player on the floor.

“And they all listened to Bird, because most all of them had played against him and they knew he knew what he was talking about.”

As you might surmise, Walsh was not happy when Bird decided to leave the bench after three years.

“I was totally bummed out,” he said. “Totally. But that was his decision. He could have stayed as long as he wanted. I had actually made a deal with him that if he didn’t want to coach he could be the GM. But he left even that on the table. . . .”

Bird departed after leading the Pacers to the Finals against the Lakers in 2000 and decompressed a while. Then, according to Walsh, Bird got a call from the Wizards, who had just fired Michael Jordan.

“He decided he wanted to get back in, and he was involved with Washington,” Walsh said. “And I was helping him with Washington. Then he called me up one weekend and said, ‘You know, if I’m going to do this, I only want to do it in Indiana.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding me.’ They were offering him a lot of money.”

Bird then returned to Indiana top work with Walsh before taking over the operation. It’s been a difficult go for the Pacers since the fight at The Palace derailed the 2004-05 season and beyond, but Walsh believes Bird will get the club back in position.

Meanwhile, he looks back on a coach he ranks with the best in the game - even with his friend, Larry Brown.

“Larry Brown wants to teach. . . . But when you have a great team,” Walsh said, “Larry Bird will take them as far as they can go. He’s the best manager of a team I’ve ever seen.”[u]