The NBA / Thomas Bonk : Knicks’ News Not All Always Good

The New York Knicks, who do not beat other teams very often, at least have been able to dominate the news recently in the Big Apple. But true to the Knicks’ season-long form, most of their recent press has been bad:

--Vice President Dave DeBusschere was called in for what he thought was a cup of coffee and learned he was getting fired.

--James Bailey and Coach Hubie Brown got into a shouting match.

--Bill Cartwright, playing in only his second NBA game in two seasons, reinjured the left foot he broke that started the whole thing.

The Knicks somehow managed to top even themselves with the events Friday at Atlanta between Brown and Darrell Walker that led to Walker’s being suspended for a game.

Actually, the latest Brown-Walker saga--they’ve been fencing all season--started Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden during a game against the Warriors, when Brown benched Walker for the entire second half.

According to accounts of the game, some fans were berating Brown for not using Walker.

Brown replied: “You can have him. He’s a dog. He’s got no guts.”

Walker didn’t hear Brown’s assessment of him until later, but the next time Brown had something to say, Walker was ready.

It happened Friday morning during a shoot-around in the Omni before a game with the Hawks that night. Running through some plays, Walker passed to the wrong player. Brown told Walker to go sit down.

Walker, however, refused to move from the lane, even after Brown had instructed the Knicks to continue running through the plays. Instead, Walker spoke to Brown.

“If you want me to sit, why don’t you make me sit down,” said Walker, who eventually sat down on his own.

Walker played that night against the Hawks, but once the Knicks got back to New York for Saturday night’s game with Milwaukee, Walker sat down and was suspended without pay for the game.

Walker isn’t about to take that sitting down. His agent said he would file a grievance today with the league.

“We feel this is the opportune time to determine whether a coach has the right, solely because of his position, to dehumanize another human being,” Larry Fleisher, Walker’s agent, told the New York Times.

So that’s where it sits right now, in an uneasy chair.

Given that the Knicks could certainly use some frontcourt help, with Cartwright out and Patrick Ewing taking a physical beating, Walker would seem to be good trade material since Brown is trying to shove him out the door anyway.

There’s just one catch. Scotty Stirling, DeBusschere’s replacement, has said he wouldn’t trade a player only because that player didn’t get along with the coach.

Knick sources in New York are interpreting that to mean that if Walker isn’t gone by the Feb. 15 trading deadline, Brown won’t last beyond this season.

The story is somewhat similar in Chicago, where one star player is hurt and another is in deep trouble. The injured player is, of course, Michael Jordan, and the guy in trouble is . . . you guessed it, Quintin Dailey.

In a 12-day span, Dailey missed three practices and a flight, got benched for most of a game with the Lakers, then heard General Manager Jerry Krause say he had considered waiving him because of all the problems.

This is the same Dailey who enraged owner Jerry Reinsdorf last season for eating pizza and a hot dog during a game, and who spent 31 days in a drug treatment clinic this season.

But if it looks as if Dailey isn’t long for the Bulls, you might remember that he wasn’t supposed to be around for this season, either. Reinsdorf wanted Dailey out, but Krause talked Reinsdorf into keeping Dailey.

In fact, the Bulls actually extended Dailey’s contract and gave him a $50,000 raise.

Some kind of punishment, isn’t it?

Actually, the Bulls were pretty sharp. For the next two years of Dailey’s contract, the Bulls have an option before each season on whether to pick up the contract.

The Bulls tried hard to peddle Dailey before this season, but the best deal they could get was a second-round draft choice, so they settled on working out the new contract instead.

Coach Stan Albeck has washed his hands of the Dailey situation, which means the burden falls back onto Krause. If Dailey keeps goofing up, it will reflect on Krause more than on anybody else.

Except, of course, Dailey, judged by most NBA scouts as a terrific basketball talent with one finger poised on a self-destruct button.

Jordan had a walking cast put on his broken left foot last Wednesday and if everything goes well, he could be playing again by the middle of February.

The cast will stay on for two weeks, after which time Jordan will go to unusual lengths to make sure he’s healthy enough to begin practicing. He will get second and third opinions from two leading foot specialists.

They are Dr. Stan James of Eugene, Ore., and Dr. John Bergfeld of Cleveland.

When Dr. John Hefferon, the Bulls’ team physician, gets together with the two other doctors on a conference call, Jordan could finally get the green light.

Jordan has been on the Bulls’ injured list since Nov. 5.

“If we had him the whole time, our record would be the reverse of what it is now,” Albeck said. “When we get Michael back and then if we can sneak into that eighth playoff spot, we are going to cause somebody a lot of trouble. They’d better not forget about us.”

Bill Walton’s ability to get up for big games, as seen last week against the Lakers and 76ers, could be an early indication that the Celtics were exactly right when they traded for him last summer while the Lakers passed.

For once, Walton said, he feels healthy. If he remains that way for the playoffs, he will give the Celtics another big weapon in a front line that is already the best in basketball with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

Walton said that being physically fit also helps his mental outlook.

“I feel like I’m in good shape,” Walton said. “Almost every game, I play under 20 minutes. That’s enough to allow me to have good timing and good confidence in making my moves.

“I’ve gotten over thinking about my foot injuries when I play ball,” he said. “I can concentrate on playing.

“Forgetting about my foot has helped the consistency of my performances,” Walton said. “Now I can anticipate being able to play, more so than I have in a long, long time. Before, I wouldn’t know if I would be physically able to play until two or three hours before a game. I no longer have that mental burden.”