| | Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Lenny Wilkens, clarifying his position with Michael Jordan, admitted Friday night he "might have been a bit exuberant" when he indicated he had been offered the Washington Wizards coaching job.
|  | | Lenny Wilkens says he's got several options for the upcoming season. |
"Michael has not made any offers to me -- or to anybody,"
Wilkens told The Associated Press from his home in Seattle. "I
might have been a bit exuberant about the facts of my meeting with
him. I knew he was going to interview other people, too."
In a televised interview on Thursday, Wilkens said of
the Wizards: "They said they would like to have me, no question
about it. ... I told Michael I'd get back to him, which I will."
Jordan, the Wizards president of basketball operations,
responded by telling The Washington Post: "All of the people that
I have interviewed are sufficient candidates, but no one has been
offered the job." ESPN's David Aldridge reported Friday that no offer had been made, according to the Wizards.
If it were offered, Wilkens might not immediately accept. The
62-year-old coach is also interested in the Vancouver Grizzlies
vacancy, which would keep him closer to home. He has also been
reported as a possible candidate for the New Jersey opening.
"It's a very attractive situation," Wilkens said of coaching in Vancouver. "I like the
team. There has been some conversation with my representative, and
we'll see where it goes. First of all, I like the area. ... Also, I
like the team. I think they have some young guys that can be very
competitive."
Wilkens, who resigned from the Atlanta Hawks last month and is
the NBA's career leader with 1,179 coaching victories, told the AP
he has received no firm offers from any team. He also said he
definitely plans to coach again and is not considering retirement. Wilkens also coached in Cleveland, Seattle and Portland. He led the SuperSonics to the NBA title after the 1978-79 season.
At least three other candidates are known to be under
consideration by Jordan: former Chicago Bulls teammate John Paxson,
Golden State assistant coach Rod Higgins and Wizards interim coach
Darrell Walker. Jordan has said he would like to hire a coach
before the draft lottery on May 21.
Another frequently mentioned candidate is St. John's coach Mike
Jarvis. However, St. John's officials say Jordan and Jarvis did not
discuss the Wizards job when Jordan attended a fund-raiser for
Jarvis' charitable foundation on Thursday.
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