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Willis Reed leaves Knicks to help Hornets

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By BRETT MARTEL

AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The New Orleans Hornets hired NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed as vice president of basketball operations Tuesday, giving the former New York Knicks star a chance to finish his career in his native state.

“This will be my last job,” said the 62-year-old Reed, who built a house in northern Louisiana and plans to retire there.

He expects to be more than a figurehead for the Hornets, contributing to roster decisions and advising the coaching staff, all while using his well known name to promote the team.

“This is not early retirement,” he said.

Reed, who led the Knicks to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, was an adviser for the Knicks last season after 14 years in the New Jersey Nets’ front office. Reed was the Nets’ senior vice president when Hornets coach Byron Scott guided New Jersey.

Reed said he was happy in New York and expected to finish his front-office career there until he found out the Hornets were interested in bringing him back to Louisiana.

“When I went back to the Knicks last year I thought I had really gone home … I would walk around the practice facility and my number was hanging and they had pictures of me,” Reed said.

Although first-year Knicks general manager Isiah Thomas fired former coach Don Cheney – who is Reed’s good friend – Reed said he was impressed with how Thomas helped direct the Knicks back to the playoffs.

It was only Reed’s strong personal ties to Louisiana – where his mother still lives – that led him to leave New York.

Reed was born in the northern Louisiana town of Hico, grew up in nearby Bernice and was an All-American at Grambling State in the early 1960s.

His Louisiana home is in Ruston, within minutes of Grambling and some of his closest friends.

He said his mother, Inell, “really was excited her 62-year-old, 280-pound baby was going to come back to work in Louisiana.”

Reed also was interested in working again with Scott, whom Reed called “the best young coach in the NBA.”

Meanwhile, new Hornets general manager Allan Bristow said he will seek Reed’s input on draft prospects, free agents and trade possibilities.

One of the major tasks facing the Hornets this summer concerns former All-Star Jamal Mashburn, whose knee injury kept him out of all but 19 games last season. Mashburn also caused some bad blood by suggesting the team mishandled his injury and pressured him to play hurt.

Reed said he considers Mashburn an exceptional talent who could improve the Hornets’ fortunes substantially.

“If Mashburn plays we’d be a much better team,” he said. “When you have a player as talented as he is – if he’s healthy – the destiny of this team becomes a lot different.”

AP-ES-06-29-04 1800EDT