Monday’s news that Donnie Walsh would step down as president of the Indiana Pacers at the end of the season didn’t come as a surprise. He had said all along this — his 24th year with the team — would be his last. In recent months it became clear he would stick to that promise.

That didn’t soften the blow any. I just hate to see him go out like this.

I’ve been a Pacers fan my entire life. I remember well life before Walsh. A handful of Pacers games would be broadcast each season. Now nearly every game is on TV. Ugly curtains at Market Square Arena use to hide the fact that half the arena was empty. Under his stewardship, sellouts became the norm and the team built the sparkling gem that is Conseco Fieldhouse.

Like the other three ABA teams absorbed by the NBA, the Pacers seemed to be fighting an uphill battle in their early days in The League. Under Walsh’s leadership, they became perennial contenders. In fact, he built this team into a championship caliber organization not once, but twice. First came the Reggie, Rik, Mark and Davises era. After that team grew old and its parts moved on or retired, he built the franchise again with the Reggie, JO, Artest era.

Then came the brawl. Nothing has been the same since.

One of the league’s marquee franchises is now in ruins. The fans hate this group of players, and refuse to support the team. The Pacers have the lowest attendance in the league. The franchise is saddled with unwieldy contracts that will have them in salary cap hell for the foreseeable future. Much of this is the result of the handiwork of one of my playing idols, Larry Bird. Much of it is the result of the Curse of the Cup — that damn beverage that landed on Ron Artest’s chest and changed the team’s fortunes.

While Walsh must bear some of the responsibility for picking up and holding on too long to a cast of malcontents and injury-prone trouble makers, it is sad that this is how his time here will end. He deserved to go out on top.

The theory is he’ll be running the Knicks next year. Yet another kick in the gut to Pacers fans. This would be akin to Bill Polian leaving the Colts to run the Patriots. I just can’t believe it is happening like this. I’ve long respected and admired Donnie. I thank him for what he did for the Pacers. I wish him the best. But if he should end up in New York, well, I hope he has as much success as Isiah Thomas has had there.