With his final Knicks paycheck cashed last month, Lenny Wilkens lashed out yesterday at his former boss, Isiah Thomas, saying he regretted ever becoming the Knicks coach. Wilkens criticized the Keith Van Horn trade and dismissal of his assistant coach, Dick Helm.

Wilkens also took a poke at the latest lame-duck Knicks coach, Larry Brown. Wilkens said Brown had a more talented roster than he did. “I don’t know from any perspective if you can constantly criticize your players,” Wilkens said.

Wilkens, who stepped down in January 2005, made his comments in the Seattle Times and on ESPN Radio. “It was a mistake,” Wilkens said. “I should never have gone there. Hindsight, it wasn’t a situation I should have put myself in.”

Wilkens guided the Knicks into the playoffs his first season with a 23-19 record, but the next year the club collapsed after a 13-10 start. “(Isiah) had his ideas, I have mine, it seemed like we were going in separate directions,” Wilkens said. “When that happens, it isn’t good for anybody. The best thing to do was move on. It was a mutual thing.”