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Knicks Fire Coach Chaney, Hire Wilkens

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 06:00 CST

Don Chaney and his two top assistant coaches were fired by the New York Knicks, and Lenny Wilkens was hired as the team's new head coach Wednesday, according to ousted assistant Brendan Malone.

"They fired Don, myself and Lon Kruger," Malone said as he left Madison Square Garden two hours before the Knicks' game against the Orlando Magic. Malone said Wilkens, the NBA leader in career coaching victories, would be the new coach.

The team called a news conference for team president Isiah Thomas to make an announcement.

The changes came on a bizarre day, even by the Knicks' standards. Chaney put the team through its morning shootaround after reading in a newspaper that he would be replaced by former NBA coach and current TV analyst Mike Fratello.

Fratello later released a statement saying he had no agreement "in place," and then came the news of Wilkens' hiring.

It was the latest in a series of major changes made by Thomas, who took over for fired team president Scott Layden late last month.

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