It didn’t take long for Donnie Walsh to identify his largest asset in New York: His checkbook.

The meat. While it seems that Suns coach Mike D’Antoni may have not “technically” received an offer from the Knicks, according to ESPN negotiations have advanced to the point that the Knicks on Thursday outlined a lucrative five-year deal in the range of $30 million. If D’Antoni were to accept such an offer, it would make him one of the highest paid coaches in the NBA, right up there with names like Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.

The potatoes. I don’t think I need mention that D’Antoni is not a wart on the fanny of Jackson or Riley, but that’s okay, I don’t think the Knicks are under any delusions to the contrary. Instead, Walsh simply realizes that the only way to snare his top candidate for the position is by the lure of money. The Chicago Bulls are also aggressively pursuing D’Antoni and the coach understandably likes the look of that situation a bit better than the compost heap at Madison Square Garden.

Naturally there is speculation that D’Antoni is only using the Knicks to drive up Chicago’s offer, which would painfully illustrate just how far this illustrious franchise has fallen as a destination for tools and talent.

My reaction. I’m usually a cynic, however I’m not impervious to the optimism that follows a change in management. Sure it’s the same old Knicks throwing around the all mighty dollar, but I have no problem with it. If Walsh has sincerely identified a clear cut candidate that he views as head and shoulders above the rest, I have no problem with him using every bit of Jim Dolan’s resources to bring in that candidate. I’ll admit, I’m a bit surprised that Mike D’Antoni is that candidate, but I’ll take a “wait and see” approach to this move.

The money, to me, is peanuts in comparison to the half a billion dollars spent on payroll since this organization last won a playoff game.

And I have to say, I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of sense to bring in a defensive guru like Avery Johnson or Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau to coach this motley mess of a roster. When Zeke brought in players like Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson, he talked of a run-and-gun offense in the mold of the system D’Antoni ran in Phoenix. Of course, he subsequently went out and acquired the plodding pair of Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph in an abrupt and bizarre change in tactics. My mind recoils at the memory.

The best part of a D’Antoni hire is that it would obviously play to the strengths of players on the roster who can run the floor. Popular fan favorites such as David Lee, Renaldo Balkman and Nate Robinson would all prosper in D’Antoni’s uptempo offense; as would Jamal Crawford, like him or not, the team’s most lethal scoring threat.

I bet Mike misses Steve Nash already.

D’Antoni’s arrival would also signal the departure of Curry, who would fair even worse than Shaq did in the coach’s offense. Curry’s contract will be difficult to move, but not impossible. Walsh can expect to receive little other than disposable players and bad contracts in return, which is fine as long as no deal jeopardizes the team’s salary cap space in the summer of 2010.

Walsh will certainly look to move Randolph as well, but as we’ve discussed in the past, Z’Bo’s contract is a complete albatross.

Speaking of 2010, I wonder if the 57-year-old D’Antoni realizes he’ll be 60 by the time this team has a prayer of being competitive.

By the way, wondering about the above picture? I have no idea either. It came up in a Google Image Search for “mike d’antoni.”