nypost:-- Antonio Davis is not the only Knick whose been involved in a brouhaha recently.
The Post has learned Knicks assistant coach Mark Aguirre and veteran Malik Rose got into a screaming match on the bench nine days ago during the Knicks-Atlanta game at the Garden on Jan. 13, two sources by the bench said.
The player-coach spat underscored Aguirre's reputation of yelling at players on the floor — a trait that irritated past coaches Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams, sources say.
Aguirre is Isiah Thomas' closest friend, both from Chicago's West Side. Aguirre sits this season in the second row. But Brown told Aguirre to sit next to him for that game because assistant Dave Hanners was sick. It was the first time this season Aguirre sat on the bench.
One source by the bench said when Rose came out in the fourth quarter, Aguirre leaned over to say something to Rose, who start screaming at Aguirre. The person said Rose shouted at Aguirre, "Stop screaming at me when I'm on the court, stop telling me what to do."
During the next timeout, assistants George Glymph and Herb Williams calmed Rose.
Rose downplayed the incident.
"Mark and I talk like that all the time," Rose said. "It was just miscommunication. Mark and I are still friends."
When Larry Brown was hired in July, a league source said Isiah Thomas told him to hire his own staff. Brown decided to keep Aguirre because he didn't want anyone losing a job and he works well with big men. Aguirre was hired as Don Chaney's assistant two weeks after Thomas got to New York. When Wilkens came aboard, he was ordered to keep Aguirre.
Asked about the incident, Aguirre denied an argument ensued.
"He came to the bench upset," Aguirre said. "I just told him don't worry about it."
