The Best Point Guard-Chapter 37 - 36: [Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick]

New York Knicks General Manager Scott Layden, Head Coach Donnie, and owner James Dolan sat in the best seats in Madison Garden.

Little Dolan sat in the middle, sprawled in his chair with his legs spread.

Everyone in New York City knew he was a "good boy" who did drugs, drank heavily, street raced, and partied with young models. Even before his old man died, he was already a famous playboy in New York City’s high society.

Now that the massive MSG Group was in his hands, everyone just hoped he wouldn’t embarrass the Knicks too badly.

To his left sat the team’s General Manager and President of Basketball Operations, Scott Layden. He was a famous "basketball legacy"—his father was Frank Layden, the former Head Coach and General Manager for the Jazz. This kind of nepotism was rampant in the NBA, where it was all too common for one person to become a head coach and get their whole family on the payroll.

Scott Layden’s resume looked impressive. He started as a scout for the Jazz in 1981, then became an assistant coach. During this time, he achieved ’great success.’ In ’84, he showed a unique eye for talent by selecting John Stockton, who was relatively unknown in college basketball, and then selected Carl Malone the following year. These two helped the Jazz make the playoffs for 18 consecutive seasons and even won the Western Conference Championship in ’97 and ’98.

Starting in ’88, he gradually moved away from scouting and assistant coaching. He first became the Director of Player Personnel for the Jazz, then Director of Basketball Operations in ’92, and Vice President of Basketball Operations in ’96. Then, in 1999, he came to New York.

His resume looked extensive. But it didn’t hold up to scrutiny.

Because his father, Frank Layden, was replaced in 1988, he left his front-line position with the Jazz and became a club operations staffer.

After arriving in New York, he first gave "Madman" Spreeville a five-year, 61.9 million USD contract extension. Spreeville’s talent was directly proportional to his temper, making him a locker room cancer. Then, he gave Kurt Thomas a three-year, 13 million USD contract, and followed that by trading Patrick Ewing... breaking the hearts of long-time fans.

Next, he drafted Nene, only to trade him away for Antonio Davis. Then, he signed former Jazz guard Easley to a seven-year, 41 million USD contract, and another former Jazz guard, Shandon Anderson, to a six-year, 42 million USD contract. Most unbelievably, he gave Alan Houston a six-year, 100 million USD contract extension.

He had mortgaged the Knicks’ future.

But somehow, his reputation wasn’t completely ruined. After all, someone would eventually come along to take over his mess and, through a series of wild moves, draw all the blame onto themselves.

Despite an annual payroll exceeding 80 million USD—far above the NBA luxury tax line—they were already preparing for the next season. It was only late March, and they had already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Head Coach Donnie wasn’t struggling at all. He was quite nonchalant, sitting to the right of James Dolan.

Donnie’s resume was even more ’extensive’ than Scott Layden’s.

In his early years, Donnie played at the University of Houston. He was teammates with Hall of Fame player Elvin Hayes and rode his coattails to an impressive college career. He was drafted by the Celtics in 1968. Known for his defense, he was selected to the All-Defensive Team five times in his career and helped the Celtics win two championships.

His coaching career began with the Clippers, first as an assistant, then taking over for Jim Lynam. At the time, he was the 12th black head coach in the NBA. Of those twelve, ten had been players, and five had played for the Celtics... This just shows how convoluted the relationships in NBA coaching circles are.

He coached the Clippers for two seasons with no highlights. In his first full season, the team won 32 games, missed the playoffs, and he got into a fight with rookie Benjamin Bonuva. His second full season was a disaster: he went 12-70, giving him the second-worst single-season record in NBA history.

After being fired, he went to the Rockets, replacing the also-fired Bill Fitch. With Olajuwon’s help, his record was decent, but they never made it past the first round. Notably, in his third season as coach, he had surgery and missed 25 games. Under assistant coach Tomjanovich, the Rockets achieved their best record since ’86 and ranked in the top five in the league. This won him the Coach of the Year award.

Then, upon his return to coach in the playoffs, his team was swept 3-0 by the Lakers. In ’92, the fed-up Rockets management fired him. After Tomjanovich took over... the Rockets rose to prominence.

In ’93, Donnie went to coach the Pistons, ambitiously declaring he would take Detroit back to the Finals. However, it wasn’t long before the locker room he was supposed to be controlling erupted into chaos. Isaiah Thomas and Lambier got into a brawl, resulting in Thomas breaking his hand and Lambier retiring. The team suffered one losing streak after another, ultimately winning only 20 games that season, after which Isaiah Thomas retired. The next season, the Pistons won 28 games. The fed-up Pistons fired him.

Last season, he finally found a job as the lead assistant coach for the New York Knicks under Jeff Van Gundy. On December 10, 2001, fortune smiled upon him when Jeff Van Gundy resigned, citing a lack of focus. Donnie took over. When Jeff Van Gundy left, the team’s record was 10-9. Under Donnie’s "energetic" coaching, the final record was 30-53. They creatively achieved an 18-game losing streak and missed the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years.

And yet, there Donnie sat next to James Dolan, still the team’s head coach, already starting preparations for next season before the current one had even ended.