Toronto Talks to Wilkens About Coaching Position

Lenny Wilkens, the only person to be named to the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, is a candidate for the vacant coaching position with the Toronto Raptors.

Wilkens and Raptor General Manager Glen Grunwald met this week and Wilkens said he hopes they talk again soon, the Toronto Sun reported Friday.

“No question about it,” Wilkens said when asked if was interested in succeeding Butch Carter, who was fired Tuesday. “I like the team. I like the city. I like the players. I coached Kevin Willis for a number of years in Atlanta.”

Wilkens, 62, resigned as coach of the Hawks at the end of the season. He also coached the Seattle SuperSonics to their only NBA title, in 1979.

Grunwald confirmed the meeting, saying Wilkens’ record as the winningest coach in NBA history “speaks for itself.”

Under Carter, Toronto finished with its first winning record and gained its first playoff berth, losing in a three-game sweep to New York. But off-court distractions involving Carter led to his dismissal.

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Alvin Gentry, a former coach with the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons, will be an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs next season.

Before taking the San Antonio job, Gentry spurned an offer from the Atlanta Hawks.

Gentry spent two days in Atlanta this week, but had not signed a contract. He said Thursday that personal reasons prevented him from taking that job.

Gentry had an 88-93 record during the parts of four seasons he was a head coach. He was an assistant with the Spurs in 1988, and also has worked with the Clippers, the Heat and the Pistons.