HoopsHype.com Columns

Finally, it's Lenny
by Jason McIntyre / January 15, 2004

Ever since Isiah Thomas was named the New York Knicks president of basketball operations Dec. 22, head coach Don Chaney had been a dead man walking.

Chaney, a pleasant individual who lacks the charisma and clout to be a head coach in New York, had been on the guillotine since Thomas was hired, and finally, Wednesday night, the ax fell. It was as inevitable as a Rasheed Wallace technical. As Thomas shook things up with trades and cuts that came fast and furious, the head that everyone kept waiting to roll was that of Chaney.

Samuel Beckett wrote a classic play, "Waiting for Godot," which focuses on the suffering of being. Two friends wait for something to appear and alleviate their boredom. They wait and wait and nothing comes. Don Chaney and Knicks fans waited and sweated things out for four weeks until everyone was finally put out of their misery when Godot arrived disguised as Lenny Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history.

Thomas was careful with his words and never gave Chaney any assurances. The losses certainly didn’t help matters – and neither did the notoriously negative Knicks fans, whose chants for Chaney’s firing grew louder with each defeat.

Although you have to like what Thomas has done to make the Knicks relevant again, and recapture some of that Madison Square Garden magic, he didn't handled this situation as best he could have. In situations like these, it’s best to be up front, and Thomas never was. Why not just get rid of Chaney immediately? Was he really going to turn things around in a handful of games – especially after the Stephon Marbury blockbuster shook the core of the team?

Thomas bricked in that he actually had Chaney coach the Wednesday shootaround with the Knicks and face the media, all the while rumors of Mike Fratello were swirling in the chilly New York winds. It was almost as if this were the goal of Thomas all along – hold New York hostage with big news, and keep the Knicks atop the media charts. Speaking of ... when was the last time you heard how the Nets were doing? If Kenyon Martin isn’t fighting or talks of a move to Brooklyn hit the skids, the Nets don’t really matter. Lucky for Byron Scott.

When Thomas finally pulled the trigger, it was a bit of a shocker: Chaney out, Lenny Wilkens in. Huh? How’d that happen?

Thomas has had his short list of candidates since taking over, and Wilkens had to be a last minute pick, almost as if out of hat. Is he the man for the job?

Well in November 2002, Memphis Grizzlies president of basketball operations Jerry West, the best in the biz, dusted off ancient Hubie Brown and named him the team’s head coach. West was lauded. The key difference here is that Brown had been out of the game for nearly a decade; Wilkens has been out less than a year.

Who’s to say Wilkens, a Brooklyn native, can’t reshape Stephon Marbury the same way Brown has transformed Jason Williams (fourth best assist/turnover ratio, seventh in the league in assists)?

Wilkens, 66, has never won more than 57 games in a regular season, but he also never had a Hall of Famer in his prime. This Knicks team Wilkens inherits one of most talented groups he’s ever had.

I stated when Marbury arrived that the Knicks would make the playoffs. Right now, they’re 3.5 games out. The team directly ahead of them Miami (9th seed) is likely going to fade. Between injuries, youth, and chemistry, the Heat should melt in the second half. Philadelphia (8th seed) is only going to improve now that Allen Iverson’s healthy. Nobody is sure how Milwaukee (5th seed) is four games above .500, but expect their play to tail off in the second half.

So is two months enough time for Wilkens to position the Knicks for a coveted playoff spot?

In the past, he’s worked with his share of talented point guards – Mark Price in Cleveland, Mookie Blaylock in Atlanta – so maybe there is hope for Wilkens and Marbury to mesh well.

The long-term plan for the Knicks and Thomas is simple – slug it out through this season and next with Wilkens the stopgap, and hopefully make the playoffs. Then, for the 2005-06 season, Thomas could take over as head coach, they’ll have rid themselves of the soft Keith Van Horn, and finally be free from salary cap hell. Thomas will have wiggle-room money, and likely still a core of Marbury and Houston.

Jason McIntyre is a a freelance journalist in New York City and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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