Absolutely terrible move by Isiah. Wilkens was a panic hire. There was so much pressure to fire Chaney between the chants at the Garden and Isiah's Letterman appearance that he jumped the gun before he really had the Fratello deal in the bag. I really think Isiah had no clue who he would hire as coach until a half hour before the press conference.
As for Wilkens, ugh. What is he, 78? Regardless, he is exactly the opposite of what the Knicks need right now. Right now, more than anything, the Knicks need an emphasis on two things..motivation and defense. I really don't see the passive Wilkens motivating the Knicks much more than Chaney did, and he falls short of the types of changes Fratello would have done. Really, Fratello would have been the perfect choice for this current Knicks crew. Even more so than Doc Rivers, who I have been calling for the Knicks to hire in recent weeks. I was excited all of this afternoon when I heard of the news, then it all went to hell as soon as I got home and loaded up the ol' interweb.
But man, like his deals or not, you MUST commend Isiah Thomas for putting the NEW YORK back into New York Knicks. All of this drama and all of this headache is exactly what is needed to shake up this organization. However, a HUGE thumbs down to the way he handled Chaney's firing. Not only do I find his lack of respect for Chaney as coach disappointing prior to today, but also the fact that they had Chaney come to the arena with his wife, then having him escorted from the building by security without giving him a face-to-face firing is just low class. Chaney does not deserve this from Isiah, just like he does not deserve the disrespect from the Knicks fans. He's a mediocre coach, but unlike, say, Scott Layden, a guy like Don Chaney deserves more respect on a personal level than what he has been given in the past week and a half. I wish my best to the man.
This is bad, real bad. I didn't like the Marbury trade and I don't like this move. It was good PR but the PR will wear off rather quickly if the Knicks don't make the playoffs.
Lenny Wilkins coaching in New York City! Oh this is going to be too rich. I've seen him coaching in Toronto and he was the most apathetic coach I've seen in a long time... He was like the total opposite of Jeff Van Gundy
smark/net attack wienerville advisory is on ORANGE alert - High (Due to Bob Holly WWE Title match, Kliq/Kliq PPV World Title match, Mae Young appearance) 1/6
Get your WWE CD copy autographed by Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus and Lilian Garcia after Raw... Oh MY! Christmas has come late. Can't get better then that.
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Former NBA power forward Brian Grantannounced that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in January-- the same condition afflicting Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, and, incidentally, my grandmother.