Knicks to Offer Donnie Walsh Two-Year Extension?

The latest rumor involving the Knicks’ front-office mess is that the team is considering re-upping team president Donnie Walsh for another two years. From CBS Sports: “Walsh, 69, has an option for the 2011-12 season to be exercised by April 30, but the more likely scenario is a two-year extension that would keep the architect of the Knicks’ revival at the helm through the critical next phase of the rebuilding plan. If the option is not picked up, Walsh’s contract expires June 30. ‘It’s basically going to be Donnie’s call whether he wants to come back,’ said the person with knowledge of the organization’s intentions. No final decisions have been made on Walsh or coach Mike D’Antoni in the wake of a 4-0 first-round sweep completed Sunday with a 101-89 loss to the Celtics, and sources cautioned that several issues could complicate both situations. For one, neither Walsh nor D’Antoni has been given a clear indication as to their respective statuses, which explains why D’Antoni took some off-guard with his postgame comment Sunday, ‘I don’t know what the future holds.’ D’Antoni’s comment was not made with knowledge of his status one way or another, one of the sources said. The coach’s fate is strongly tied to Walsh, whose future has been shrouded in secrecy and subject to the whims of Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan. Even those with ties to Walsh who’ve had dealings with Dolan have been unable to decipher in recent weeks how far Dolan will go to try to keep Walsh. Another complicating factor could be an attempt to force something on Walsh that he’s not comfortable with, sources said. Such a circumstance could be another attempt by Dolan to bring former coach and president Isiah Thomas back into the organization in an official capacity — an unequivocally destructive move that is believed to be no more than a remote possibility, one of the sources said. Dolan’s attempt to hire Thomas, the coach at Florida International, as a consultant last summer was shot down by NBA rules forbidding team employees from having contact with college players who are not yet draft eligible.”