THE QUESTION is not so much whether Lenny Wilkens should be removed as the Toronto Raptors' head coach. No, that seems a fait accompli to everyone involved, including perhaps even Wilkens.

Glen Grunwald flew to Texas this week to give him a present of a new assistant coach in Walker Russell, which as get-well gifts ranks right alongside a glow-in-the-dark necktie. Club president Richard Peddie is headed to Florida and the next leg of this long march over the weekend.