Nailon Joins Knicks

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that the Knicks finalized the signing of Lee Nailon yesterday. He then rode the Amtrak to Philadelphia to meet up with his new team. He will practice with the Knicks today at Philadelphia Community College.

The 6-9 small forward will make his debut tomorrow night against the Sixers.

The Knicks are hoping that Nailon’s size will help alleviate the lack of height along the frontcourt. They also want him to be an offensive presence on the floor.

"He's true to the position," Chaney said of Nailon. "He's a true small forward. I think it's great, great to have a bona-fide small forward in that position and a guy who can score. He can definitely score. He can face up and shoot the ball and he can also post-up."

Nailon’s defense is suspect, but he should have no problem supplanting Shandon Anderson at the small forward position until Latrell Sprewell returns from his hand injury.

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Nailon a Knick

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that Lee Nailon may have finally found a home. After being re-signed, then waived by the Hornets, he has agreed in principal to a one-year contract with the Knicks. The team waived Toby Bailey to open a roster spot for Nailon. The signing is expected to be announced today.

The addition of Nailon could mean the end of Latrell Sprewell’s tenure as a Knick. Nailon and Sprewell play the same position, but Nailon is bigger, younger and less expensive.

Nailon traveled to New York after talking with coach Don Chaney. It is believed that he agreed to a one-year deal worth between $850,000 and $900,000. He did not travel to the team to Detroit but may be present at today’s shootaround.

The Knicks were interested in signing Nailon during the summer but held off because they expected Sprewell to play the small forward position. There were upset to learn that Sprewell had broken his hand during the offseason. They were more upset because they learned of the injury one day after Nailon had re-signed a deal with the Hornets.

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Chaney gets another extension from Knicks

New York Knickerbockers President and General Manager Scott Layden announced today that the organization has extended the contract of Head Coach Don Chaney. Terms of the contract were not revealed, per team policy.

“Don has shown exemplary on and off-court leadership and we are very pleased to give him this opportunity,” Layden said. “We feel extending his contract at this time gives Don and the team the opportunity to concentrate on basketball for the long term.”

“We have great confidence that Don is the right person to lead the Knicks,” said James L. Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden and president and CEO of Cablevision Systems Corporation. “We appreciated his willingness to step into a challenging position last December and believe that he has shown all the qualities that the Knicks need to succeed.”

“I am very grateful to the Knicks organization, and am looking forward to the future,” Chaney said. “As a player and a coach, New York has always been a very special place to me, and I am determined to lead the team through this transition and back to NBA prominence.”

Overall, Chaney has 23 years of coaching experience, including 10 as a head coach. He enjoyed his best success at the helm of the Houston Rockets from 1988-92, posting a 164-134 (.550) record (second-best in franchise history), including NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1991. He also had head coaching stints with the Los Angeles Clippers (1984-’87) and Detroit Pistons (1993-’95) and has an all-time head coaching record of 276-409 (.403). He has spent the last eight years with the Knicks organization, serving as top assistant for both Don Nelson and Jeff Van Gundy, before taking over the head coaching reigns on December 10, 2001. He is the 19th head coach in the Knicks’ 57 years of basketball.

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