Nuggets coach Mike Malone remembers his beginning with Knicks

Mike Malone was just starting out, not quite 30 years old and on an NBA staff for the first time as an assistant to Jeff Van Gundy when the staff headed to Westchester to begin practices for the Boston Summer League under the stewardship of another assistant coach -- Tom Thibodeau.

"I do laugh when I think about the summer league practices up in White Plains at the Westchester Civic Center," said Malone who is now the Nuggets head coach. "We had practice for our summer league up in Boston and I remember [assistant coach] Don Chaney would have ice bags on after practice because Thibs’ summer league practices were like five hours long. That was his chance to be a head coach way back then as an…