Kori Ellis
05-30-2005, 04:13 AM
Pistons' Brown appears to have foot out the door
By SAM SMITH
Chicago Tribune
It appears Larry Brown's staff is being put together in Cleveland with former Spurs and current Pacers assistant Mike Brown as the likely head coach and Pacers executive David Morway, a former agent who worked with Brown in Indiana, as a possible top executive.
Larry Brown's closest NBA confidants remain the Pacers' Donnie Walsh and the Spurs' Gregg Popovich, and he always works within his NBA and North Carolina networks for hiring. To spread that network, Brown asks his assistants to hire members of his inner circle when they get head-coaching jobs. That's how Herb Brown ended up in Atlanta with Mike Woodson.
Yes, it's all one big Larry Brown family. Oh, that's right. What about the job Brown has as coach of the Detroit Pistons? He even has three more years left on his contract. Although Brown has denied ever meeting new Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, word around the NBA is Brown applied for the job as Cavs president weeks ago and has been waiting for the end of the Pistons' season.
So, one top team official asked me last week, "Why don't you guys in the media point out that the guy who talks about `playing the right way' is the biggest hypocrite in the NBA. Here's a guy in the middle of a playoff run, the most important time for his franchise, committing the biggest sin. He's looking for a job and while he's under contract. I'd be screaming it everywhere to everyone. What can be more wrong than that? Where's all the loyalty he always talks about? The commitment? The dedication?"
That's Larry, I explained.
Larry Brown is the Charles Barkley of coaching. He always is going to say or do something outrageous. If you hire him, you have to understand that. For every job Brown has had in the NBA, he has been applying for another job before he was done. Halfway through his last season with the Pacers, and with a few years left on his contract, he was looking at the 76ers' job. He took the Pacers' job before he left the Clippers. The Nets let him go when he had the Kansas job. He fired himself from the Spurs job to work for the Clippers.
The tradeoff is your team gets better immediately. The Pistons have one championship under Brown and are working on a second. Fire him now? The Pistons likely wouldn't get to the Finals. And, like Barkley, Brown is beloved by the media. He's open, cooperative, funny, accessible and smart. So, as with Barkley, you ignore the politically incorrect stuff, the actions no one else would be allowed to get away with. There are different rules for some people. Phil Jackson said this, so it must be right.
Not that the Pistons want Brown back. He could be one of those rare coaches to be run out after winning consecutive titles. The players are weary from his constant demands and corrections. Hiring Brown is being stuck in "Damn Yankees." You will win, but at what price? You better have a successor in mind as soon as you hire him and put up with the daily instabilities. Brown is known to torment his stars, leaving the likes of Danny Manning, David Robinson and Reggie Miller shaking their heads. Because this is what Brown demands: Play hard all the time, dive on the floor, make the extra pass, the right way. "OK, but jeez, coach, I'm also getting 27 and 12." No matter. It's why they get better and then they wear out, and Brown knows the time.
He sees it now with the Pistons, which is why he's leaving. Granted, he has physical problems that probably would limit his coaching again soon.
Life with Brown as team president could be interesting for LeBron James, who despite the public image isn't the most selfless, committed individual. Brown saw that when he was the Olympic coach and that's why James didn't play.
One thing's for sure, watching this all play out will be entertaining.
Remember: Players play.
The Larry Brown Watch raises a good question about NBA coaches. Why would anyone give one a contract for more than three years? Every year, teams are paying two or three coaches from long-term contracts that rarely are finished. Yes, a coach is important. But spend the money on players.
"Coaches can screw it up," said NBA coach of the year Mike D'Antoni of the Suns. "Coaches are important to help put players in the right frame of mind and give them a chance to be great. But the coach doesn't make them great. They make themselves great."
The Lakers' signing of Rudy Tomjanovich for five years and $30 million was a mistake. Tomjanovich helped resolve that issue when he quit. They didn't have the roster to succeed. Is Mike Dunleavy, a Coach of the Year with Portland in 1999, now a bad coach with the Clippers? Three of Nate McMillan's first four seasons in Seattle the team was under .500. Did he all of a sudden get smart?
That's why teams should be careful giving long-term contracts to coaches. They flame out too quickly without the right personnel. They don't make up for injuries and free-agent defections. Brown is the league's highest paid at $7 million with Popovich and Jerry Sloan right behind. But they earned their place with years of experience and success. The Bulls are said to be offering Scott Skiles in the $4 million annual range, and he'd be nuts not to take it. It even sounds high - and it's more than the likes of veteran coaches like Rick Adelman, Rick Carlisle and Mike Fratello are getting.
How about the almost $10 million the 76ers owe Jim O'Brien, fired for Maurice Cheeks? What this usually means is the team doesn't sign another player. As the experience with Brown shows, a team needs to be careful in any long-term deal with a coach.
By SAM SMITH
Chicago Tribune
It appears Larry Brown's staff is being put together in Cleveland with former Spurs and current Pacers assistant Mike Brown as the likely head coach and Pacers executive David Morway, a former agent who worked with Brown in Indiana, as a possible top executive.
Larry Brown's closest NBA confidants remain the Pacers' Donnie Walsh and the Spurs' Gregg Popovich, and he always works within his NBA and North Carolina networks for hiring. To spread that network, Brown asks his assistants to hire members of his inner circle when they get head-coaching jobs. That's how Herb Brown ended up in Atlanta with Mike Woodson.
Yes, it's all one big Larry Brown family. Oh, that's right. What about the job Brown has as coach of the Detroit Pistons? He even has three more years left on his contract. Although Brown has denied ever meeting new Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, word around the NBA is Brown applied for the job as Cavs president weeks ago and has been waiting for the end of the Pistons' season.
So, one top team official asked me last week, "Why don't you guys in the media point out that the guy who talks about `playing the right way' is the biggest hypocrite in the NBA. Here's a guy in the middle of a playoff run, the most important time for his franchise, committing the biggest sin. He's looking for a job and while he's under contract. I'd be screaming it everywhere to everyone. What can be more wrong than that? Where's all the loyalty he always talks about? The commitment? The dedication?"
That's Larry, I explained.
Larry Brown is the Charles Barkley of coaching. He always is going to say or do something outrageous. If you hire him, you have to understand that. For every job Brown has had in the NBA, he has been applying for another job before he was done. Halfway through his last season with the Pacers, and with a few years left on his contract, he was looking at the 76ers' job. He took the Pacers' job before he left the Clippers. The Nets let him go when he had the Kansas job. He fired himself from the Spurs job to work for the Clippers.
The tradeoff is your team gets better immediately. The Pistons have one championship under Brown and are working on a second. Fire him now? The Pistons likely wouldn't get to the Finals. And, like Barkley, Brown is beloved by the media. He's open, cooperative, funny, accessible and smart. So, as with Barkley, you ignore the politically incorrect stuff, the actions no one else would be allowed to get away with. There are different rules for some people. Phil Jackson said this, so it must be right.
Not that the Pistons want Brown back. He could be one of those rare coaches to be run out after winning consecutive titles. The players are weary from his constant demands and corrections. Hiring Brown is being stuck in "Damn Yankees." You will win, but at what price? You better have a successor in mind as soon as you hire him and put up with the daily instabilities. Brown is known to torment his stars, leaving the likes of Danny Manning, David Robinson and Reggie Miller shaking their heads. Because this is what Brown demands: Play hard all the time, dive on the floor, make the extra pass, the right way. "OK, but jeez, coach, I'm also getting 27 and 12." No matter. It's why they get better and then they wear out, and Brown knows the time.
He sees it now with the Pistons, which is why he's leaving. Granted, he has physical problems that probably would limit his coaching again soon.
Life with Brown as team president could be interesting for LeBron James, who despite the public image isn't the most selfless, committed individual. Brown saw that when he was the Olympic coach and that's why James didn't play.
One thing's for sure, watching this all play out will be entertaining.
Remember: Players play.
The Larry Brown Watch raises a good question about NBA coaches. Why would anyone give one a contract for more than three years? Every year, teams are paying two or three coaches from long-term contracts that rarely are finished. Yes, a coach is important. But spend the money on players.
"Coaches can screw it up," said NBA coach of the year Mike D'Antoni of the Suns. "Coaches are important to help put players in the right frame of mind and give them a chance to be great. But the coach doesn't make them great. They make themselves great."
The Lakers' signing of Rudy Tomjanovich for five years and $30 million was a mistake. Tomjanovich helped resolve that issue when he quit. They didn't have the roster to succeed. Is Mike Dunleavy, a Coach of the Year with Portland in 1999, now a bad coach with the Clippers? Three of Nate McMillan's first four seasons in Seattle the team was under .500. Did he all of a sudden get smart?
That's why teams should be careful giving long-term contracts to coaches. They flame out too quickly without the right personnel. They don't make up for injuries and free-agent defections. Brown is the league's highest paid at $7 million with Popovich and Jerry Sloan right behind. But they earned their place with years of experience and success. The Bulls are said to be offering Scott Skiles in the $4 million annual range, and he'd be nuts not to take it. It even sounds high - and it's more than the likes of veteran coaches like Rick Adelman, Rick Carlisle and Mike Fratello are getting.
How about the almost $10 million the 76ers owe Jim O'Brien, fired for Maurice Cheeks? What this usually means is the team doesn't sign another player. As the experience with Brown shows, a team needs to be careful in any long-term deal with a coach.