Lenny and the Sword
by Guichard Cadet
After a heartbreaking, last-minute loss to the Houston Rockets last night, Lenny Wilkens decided it was time to resign as NY Knicks head coach. The first I heard of it was on television channel ESPNnews nearing (or shortly after) midnight.
The reporting was credited to Stephen A. Smith, as ‘Wilkens expected to resign’. Though the Knicks’ organization was said to have given Wilkens the night to mull it over, the word was already out; thereby making it impossible for him to change his mind.
Had he changed his mind, he simply would have been a “dead man walking”. The sports environment has become treacherous because, in addition to the actual participants, we (fans and media) put a lot of time, energy and money into the industry.
As outsiders looking down into the arena, like roman citizens viewing lions vs. Christians, we want constant excitement. We fail to see the ‘privilege’ which NY Jets QB Chad Pennington spoke of to the NY media. We desire instant gratification and balk at the very notion of NY Knicks GM Isiah Thomas’ realistic expectations that this current Knicks team is a 43-39 team.
In saying that, Thomas was essentially saying everyone gets to stay the season, even Wilkens. Yes, being offered a proven, year-in year-out All-Star caliber player could have forced him to trade one of his well-paid veterans. Unfortunately, with the Knicks losers of their last 9 out of 10 games (5 straight), change was in the air.
The media was calling for it in a murmur, and the fans were about to start filling Madison Square Garden with chants of “Fi-re Len-ny”, like a séance to summon the invisible lions.
From the moment of his NY hire to hours after his resignation (some say firing), Wilkens has had to endure absurd questions about his energy, capabilities and fit for this team (and the league). A coach expects to be second-guessed in the typical Monday morning quarterback fashion, the media and fans’ one way of indirectly participating in the decision-making aspect of sports.
But, there was no way Wilkens was going to endure the chanting. Not with his credentials: 1 of 3 people to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach.
The league’s actual participants, past and current, are well aware of Wilkens’ stature. He carries himself with the dignity we look for in every human being.
He has lost enough to show that he was not a fair-weather coach, the kind who shows up once the championship foundation is set. He is also the NBA’s leader for ‘most wins by a coach’, so he knows the game on so many levels.
The NBA is often called a “player’s league” which basically means the coach gets fired first, because most trades often involve players of equal value and caliber.
As an experienced leader, and one with NY roots, Wilkens realized the cannibalistic cries would soon come – ‘Fi-re Len-ny’, and become more of a distraction for the team. So, he did the honorable thing and took one for the team. He fell on the sword.
Is this a sign of things to come – trades and firings? Or, will this force an underachieving team to toughen up and start winning those close games and the ones against teams they’re expected to beat?
After a heartbreaking, last-minute loss to the Houston Rockets last night, Lenny Wilkens decided it was time to resign as NY Knicks head coach. The first I heard of it was on television channel ESPNnews nearing (or shortly after) midnight.
The reporting was credited to Stephen A. Smith, as ‘Wilkens expected to resign’. Though the Knicks’ organization was said to have given Wilkens the night to mull it over, the word was already out; thereby making it impossible for him to change his mind.
Had he changed his mind, he simply would have been a “dead man walking”. The sports environment has become treacherous because, in addition to the actual participants, we (fans and media) put a lot of time, energy and money into the industry.
As outsiders looking down into the arena, like roman citizens viewing lions vs. Christians, we want constant excitement. We fail to see the ‘privilege’ which NY Jets QB Chad Pennington spoke of to the NY media. We desire instant gratification and balk at the very notion of NY Knicks GM Isiah Thomas’ realistic expectations that this current Knicks team is a 43-39 team.
In saying that, Thomas was essentially saying everyone gets to stay the season, even Wilkens. Yes, being offered a proven, year-in year-out All-Star caliber player could have forced him to trade one of his well-paid veterans. Unfortunately, with the Knicks losers of their last 9 out of 10 games (5 straight), change was in the air.
The media was calling for it in a murmur, and the fans were about to start filling Madison Square Garden with chants of “Fi-re Len-ny”, like a séance to summon the invisible lions.
From the moment of his NY hire to hours after his resignation (some say firing), Wilkens has had to endure absurd questions about his energy, capabilities and fit for this team (and the league). A coach expects to be second-guessed in the typical Monday morning quarterback fashion, the media and fans’ one way of indirectly participating in the decision-making aspect of sports.
But, there was no way Wilkens was going to endure the chanting. Not with his credentials: 1 of 3 people to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach.
The league’s actual participants, past and current, are well aware of Wilkens’ stature. He carries himself with the dignity we look for in every human being.
He has lost enough to show that he was not a fair-weather coach, the kind who shows up once the championship foundation is set. He is also the NBA’s leader for ‘most wins by a coach’, so he knows the game on so many levels.
The NBA is often called a “player’s league” which basically means the coach gets fired first, because most trades often involve players of equal value and caliber.
As an experienced leader, and one with NY roots, Wilkens realized the cannibalistic cries would soon come – ‘Fi-re Len-ny’, and become more of a distraction for the team. So, he did the honorable thing and took one for the team. He fell on the sword.
Is this a sign of things to come – trades and firings? Or, will this force an underachieving team to toughen up and start winning those close games and the ones against teams they’re expected to beat?
posted by Guichard Cadet @ 6:54 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Wasn't it Lenny Wilkens who sang that song where he's wailing "oh..ooh...oh..ooooh..?" Hmmm...maybe that was Lenny WILLIAMS. Anyway, this is a pure case of trying to stop the bleeding. Trust me, as an Orlando Magic fan, I know what that's like. NY started out at the top of the division and held on for dear life long as they could. Then came Philly and Boston, and uh oh...look out for those Raptors? Add on top of that losing 9 out of the last 10 games (the most recent being at the hands of my favorite player T-MAC! AKA ME-Mac!). Ever since they hired Lenny, I've said it was just a temporay move. My theory has been that Isaiah Thomas will coach this team. He'll do his Pat Riley impersonation. Don't be suprised if I'm right. According to my calculations, it should happen next year. Unless NY makes a blockbuster trade. Maybe J. Crawford, Starbury, the Thomas boys, Allan Houston, and seven miscellaneous scrubs (whoa, that sounds like the whole team!) for Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Steve Nash, and two Dallas Cowboy's cheerleaders (oh, wait, that's football.) Sound impossible? Yep!
Michael T. Owens
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