Hall of Famer Wilkens Calls It Quits

Lenny Wilkens finally had enough.

The 67-year-old Hall of Famer resigned as coach of the New York Knicks on Saturday, probably ending a record-setting career that began in 1969 when he was an All-Star guard with the Seattle SuperSonics.

“This is a difficult decision for me to make at this time because I really wanted to help the New York team get back to being an elite team,” Wilkens said in a prepared statement. “But after a lot of consideration, I feel it’s the right time for me, the right move and best for all involved.”

Knick President Isiah Thomas, who insisted that he would not have fired Wilkens despite the team’s recent slide, turned over the club to assistant coach Herb Williams for the rest of the season.

The resignation, the first time Wilkens has stepped down or been fired during a season, followed a lengthy meeting with Thomas after the Knicks’ last-second home loss to Houston on Friday night, their ninth defeat in 10 games. Thomas also said Wilkens is dealing with off-court issues, but was not specific.

Wilkens is the winningest and losingest coach in NBA history, going 1,332-1,155 in 32 seasons with Seattle, Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto and New York. He won his lone NBA title with the SuperSonics in 1979 and coached the United States to a gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

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There was no sign of foul play in the death of Memphis broadcaster Don Poier, who was found dead in a Denver hotel before a game against the Nuggets, investigators said.

The body of the 53-year-old announcer was found Friday. The cause of death has not been determined.

It could take four to six weeks to determine the cause of death after toxicology and lab tests.

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Orlando forward Grant Hill missed Saturday’s game against Philadelphia because of a bruised right wrist.

The Magic also were without reserve center Andrew DeClercq, who had flu.

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Utah activated forward Andrei Kirilenko from the injured list before Saturday’s game against Memphis. Kirilenko had been sidelined since Nov. 30 because of a sprained right knee.

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Portland activated forward Darius Miles from the injured list. He had missed eight games because of a bone bruise in his left knee.

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Leading the Way

NBA’s all-time winningest coaches (* active):

*--* COACHES WON LOST PCT LENNY WILKENS 1,332 1,155 535 *DON NELSON 1,146 858 572 PAT RILEY 1,110 569 661 BILL FITCH 944 1,106 460 RED AUERBACH 938 479 662 DICK MOTTA 935 1,017 479 *LARRY BROWN 954 726 568 *JERRY SLOAN 931 587 613 JACK RAMSAY 864 783 525 COTTON FITZSIMMONS 832 775 518 PHIL JACKSON 832 316 725

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