04/24/24
January 14, 2004
Knicks sign Wilkens to coach: Apparently The Czar wasn't Isiah Thomas' man, after all. Thomas fired Don Chaney and two assistants today, and signed Lenny Wilkens to coach the Knicks today. That howling sound you hear is Raptors fans everywhere laughing their butts off.
posted by lew to basketball at 05:13 PM - 14 comments
Lenny Wilkens has more wins than any NBA coach in history. HISTORY. That's "forever". There's nothing wrong with getting a guy like that. The problem with the Raptors had nothing to do with Lenny Wilkens. He brought a title and a finals loss to Seattle and many great years where the Cavs played second fiddle to Jordan. Unfortunately for him, he works for Isaiah, so he will likely fail. But there is nothing in the world criticizeable (!) about hiring this HOF'er. Thomas handled this like a chump.
posted by vito90 at 06:08 PM on January 14, 2004
With Marbury in place as "The Man", signing Lenny makes sense. Lenny has been and always will be a players' (veterans) coach. Lenny has always been a PG's coach as well. Considering how high strung the Knicks have been the past few seasons, I think Lenny might be the answer. I mean, the man looked calm, cool, and collected for the season and a half where the Raps quit on him and pretty much signed his pink slip. Right? Does Lenny even sweat?
posted by lilnemo at 06:08 PM on January 14, 2004
Coach?
posted by lilnemo at 06:14 PM on January 14, 2004
Does Lenny even sweat? Isn't that the problem though? The Raps were *attrocious* last year, and Wilens was way too calm about. That makes it look like he doesn't give a damn, and often, the players didn't give a damn. Emotion is what the team was lacking, and Wilkens was part of the problem.
posted by mkn at 06:39 PM on January 14, 2004
Emotion can make a difference ceteris paribus. Lack of talent was their problem...
posted by vito90 at 06:49 PM on January 14, 2004
Hey, if McKeon is the answer for the Marlins and if Gibbs is the answer for the Native Americans, then why not wilkens for the Knicks?
posted by billsaysthis at 07:26 PM on January 14, 2004
I had a Ceteris Paribus removed from my jaw last year and now I can talk without spitting. Much.
posted by forksclovetofu at 08:00 PM on January 14, 2004
TSN also reminded me of this fact: Lenny Wilkens has more losses than any NBA coach in history. HISTORY. That's "forever".
posted by mkn at 09:14 PM on January 14, 2004
Vito90: see mkn's comments. His victories are more of a testament to his longevity than his talent. According to basketballreference.com, Wilkens has averaged 43 wins a season in his coaching career. That's a winning percentage of .524. Wilkens floated through his years in Toronto. The problem was not a lack of talent; the problem was that Wilkens didn't give a crap. He had his $5 mil either way, and he showed that he either had no ability or did not care to even try to motivate his players. His substitution patterns were terrible and his timeout calling (or lack thereof) was questionable. He passed blame after every loss, but never took responsibility for the decisions he made. If the coach isn't going to be accountable, how on earth can he expect his players to be? I hope you are not a Knicks fan, because you are going to be very, very disappointed with Isiah's latest move.
posted by lew at 10:00 PM on January 14, 2004
I don't think it's the coach's fault here -- Red Auerbach couldn't win with this group of Knicks. If you think anyone out there could give Keith Van Horn more presence in the paint, Michael Doleac a jumpshot, or Allen Houston a personality, I dare you to hire them.
posted by shigpit at 07:59 AM on January 15, 2004
Lenny probably got a worse rap than he deserved for last season's 24-58 record as coach of the Raptors. That team set an NBA record for most man-games lost due to injury so I doubt there's a coach in the world who could have coaxed a winning season out of them. Having said that, Lenny is a smug, self-satisfied, stubborn, stodgy old man who was regularly out-coached by his contemporaries. His rotations are horrible, his play-calling is 20 years out of date and he's too aloof to light a fire under anyone. Does this sound like the answer to the Knicks' problems? The funniest part about this is that Lenny was famous for his superior attitude toward the media in Toronto. Any time a reporter would dare to question his coaching, he would inevitably respond, "I'm not stupid, OK?" Toronto is a hockey town so he wasn't scrutinized all that intensely with the Raptors. I can't wait to see how the New York media deals with him... Lenny: "I'm not stupid, OK?" Peter Vescey: "Yes you are. Also, the '70s called. They want their clothes back."
posted by Scott Carefoot at 09:52 AM on January 15, 2004
After reading this article about Isiah and the Knicks the first thing that passed through my mind was a bit of narration from Barton Fink. I've left my mark on you in-delibly.
posted by lilnemo at 04:37 PM on January 15, 2004
By the bye: the .524 winning percentage is misleading. Lenny has had 10 actual losing seasons out of around 30. And there is no pattern of a decline in his record. He's won with the top player injured on almost each of his squads (Carter, Daugherty, Price, Smith, etc.). Having said that, I think he lasts at best 2 seasons before Zeke takes the reins.
posted by lilnemo at 04:45 PM on January 15, 2004
In this case I think that the devil you don't know is far better than the one you do. Knicks are likely screwed anyway, even if Phil Jackson decided he wants a challenge.