Raptors Make It Official, Introduce Wilkens as Coach

Lenny Wilkens never stopped smiling Wednesday as he ticked off the reasons why, at 62, the winningest coach in NBA history was coming to a Toronto Raptor franchise that recently seemed in disarray.

He cited an organization that “exudes class,” a great city, Vince Carter, and the chance for something new with a team coming off its first playoff appearance.

“I’m excited about it and can’t wait to get started,” Wilkens said at a news conference in Toronto after signing a reported four-year, $20 million deal to become the fourth coach in Raptor history. “I like the team, I like the city. . . . I thought last year they made a tremendous stride getting to the playoffs and I think their future is all upward.”

General Manager Glen Grunwald also alluded to an opportunity he hopes to exploit. By hiring Wilkens, he said, the Raptors showed their commitment to building a championship team, and that could entice free-agent forward Tracy McGrady to stay instead of heading south.

“I think for our franchise, this is the best thing possible,” said Grunwald, adding he recently spoke with McGrady. “The move we just made makes us more attractive to any free agent.”

In Wilkens, the Raptors hired the only person named among the NBA’s top 10 coaches and 50 greatest players of all-time. He and John Wooden are the only two men in the Hall of Fame as players and coaches.

He follows a series of first-time head coaches in the franchise’s five-year history--Brendan Malone, Darrell Walker and Butch Carter.

Carter was fired last week for unending off-court controversies, including a bid for the general manager’s title, that marred the first winning season and playoff berth in franchise history. By the time Toronto got swept by New York in the first round of the playoffs, veteran forwards Charles Oakley and Antonio Davis were against him.

Wilkens has coached in Seattle, Portland, Cleveland and Atlanta. He has a record of 1,179-981.

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Louisiana State forward Stromile Swift made it official and announced that he will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility and make himself available for next week’s draft.

Swift had put his name up for the draft in May, but did not retain an agent, allowing him keep his college eligibility while giving him time to learn where he might be selected.

“I heard the top five, but I went to Vancouver and had a good workout and [the Grizzlies] told me that if I would still be around at No. 2 they’d pick me,” Swift said.

As a sophomore, Swift averaged 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and nearly three blocks to help LSU win the Southeastern Conference regular season co-championship and reach the third round of the NCAA tournament.

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Michigan’s Jamal Crawford, who averaged 16.6 points in 17 games, has hired an agent, ending any chance of returning to the Wolverines.

Crawford declared for the draft on May 9 after a freshman season cut short by two NCAA suspensions--six games for accepting benefits from Seattle businessman Barry Henthorn when he was in high school and eight more for declaring for the NBA draft after his senior year of high school.