31 Quotes by Donnie Walsh

What he gave to this franchise, this city and this state, for 18 years, puts him among the elite athletes to have played professional sports. No. 31 in the rafters adds another legacy to the great tradition of Indiana basketball.

Magic's greatest asset is his enthusiasm, the way he can lift his team up.

Maybe this was not the right team for a guy like Ronnie. Really, Ronnie couldn't get out from under it and I hope he does in Sacramento because everyone needs a fresh start.

I don't know that we were predisposed to wait a long time. But we knew it made it more plausible to do what we want to get done. There are certain things you can't do, like get a player to help you now in a deal that hurts you in the future.

I don't think anyone ever thought this rule would be used for this kind of situation. But having been through it, I can tell you it's an easier way to deal with it because it doesn't force you into doing something you don't want to do. It allows you to play the scenario out.

If anything, I've probably gone too far with Ronnie because I felt like he was going to learn how to do things. At that point, which I thought was true, that as long as he was here, anything he did would get blown up and affect his teammates and affect everybody.

He's always living down his past in this franchise, and so are we. So I do think it's a time to kind of break apart and see if he can get a new start somewhere else. I think it's very important for us to put our past behind us and to stop these distractions so that what I think is a fine basketball team can go on.

He's been cleared. It's all set. He's been working out on his own, separately, all along. Now he'll get a chance to practice with the team again.

I think that it is important for us to put our past behind us and stop these distractions.