Not that former GM and coach Isiah Thomas didn't have the same intentions. But unlike the new men in charge, he not only lacked a certain plan but also a winning and well respected resume around the league (as an executive I might add). Walsh, a big part of Indiana's success in the 90s and the early new millenium, and D'Antoni, who transformed the Phoenix Suns into a perennial championship contender in recent years, know how to win and what it takes not only for a team to change it's culture but also for a franchise. If anyone needs further proof, we only have to look back a few days at the Knicks training camp. While the players were the same guys who invented losing as an entire new art form, the coach was different and so was the vibe all around the team. It went way beyond D'Antoni's on court tactics that intend to make a Knicks a running, fastbreak team. No, the entire culture of the team is changing. You could sense an upbeat atmosphere, a new motivation and a group of players that figure there are going to be changes for the better. But next to all the positivity, Mike D'Antoni's remarks from Tuesday's practice tell the most important early chapter of what hopefully will be a blockbuster success story with a happy end down the road. He wasn't satisfied with the effort of his players and he reminded us all that there something needs to happen inside everyone of the Knicks. "You play three or four years and not every play matters, then you develop bad habits", said D'Antoni about his team's recent "success". "When not every game matters, then your mind plays tricks on you. You think you're playing hard but you really aren't." With those words he hit a very sensitive nerve that has been nagging on this franchise for years. Being able to win comes from within a group and how they act every day. It takes more than just making a jumpshot or beating your man. It is a mental thing, too. "Of course these old habits have to change. Then we can think of becoming a good team, when we understand how hard it will be." What might sound like a sidekick at former Knicks regimes is actually much more of a direction for the future. What happened, happened. But now things have to change. Not only players.And things will change. Maybe not today in the Knicks first preseason game against the Toronto Raptors, maybe not in the first regular season game, maybe not even this year or next year. But by listening to Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni, you understand that they will make the certain changes that will take care of the losing culture around the Garden. When a player isn't willing to follow, he will be removed sooner or later. When a player doesn't fit this kind of way, he will also be shown the door one day. This hasn't happened yet in terms of roster changes, but believe me, if necessary, D'Antoni and Walsh will make these decisions. It will take time, no roster can be build in one season. But under the new leadership of holding people accountable, it is more than likely that the franchise makes steps in the right direction. Right now, the Knicks are at the bottom of the ladder and have many many stairs to take. Knicks fans though can be happy that they have the right persons leading the team up those stairs that will hopefully end one day at the top of a podium...
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