Mr.Bottomtooth
07-07-2006, 12:03 PM
He can't bench them now.
New York papers reported Thursday that a number of New York Knicks players ripped their former coach, Larry Brown, for the way he handled the team last season.
Brown and the players had been under a gag order while Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan and Knicks president Isiah Thomas worked out the former coach's departure. Players were free to talk Wednesday from their summer league practice in Las Vegas.
"Coach Brown is so old-school," point guard Nate Robinson told the New York Post. "He wants everything done just like this, not getting the crowd involved. Isiah wants everyone to have fun.
"At first he [Brown] was trying to take my joy [away] -- don't do this, don't do that. At the same time I had people in my corner saying, 'Don't ever change who you are. You got here by being who you are. By being Nate Robinson,'" he said.
Robinson was one of three prominent rookies on the roster last season whose playing time fluctuated wildly.
"Toward the end of the season it was so up and down," another of the rookies, forward David Lee, told the Post. "I told myself when I get on the floor just make the most of the opportunity because I didn't really understand what was going on.
"I didn't ask too many questions," added Lee, who went in and out of the starting lineup. "I couldn't figure out what was going on. It's a lot easier to play when you know what's expected out of you. I think things will change that way and people will have a better idea of what they're supposed to do."
Forward Channing Frye, who showed the most promise among the first-year players by averaging 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, told the Daily News that last season was "a giant circus" and that Thomas has provided "positive reinforcement" since he's taken the coaching reins.
Reached for comment by the Post, Brown said, "I'm not getting into any of that. I'm just trying to move on with my life."
All was not rosy with the Knicks on Wednesday, however. Surprise first-round pick Renaldo Balkman, a defensive-minded forward out of South Carolina, sat out the practice session with a sprained left knee. He suffered the injury in Tuesday's practice.
-ESPN
New York papers reported Thursday that a number of New York Knicks players ripped their former coach, Larry Brown, for the way he handled the team last season.
Brown and the players had been under a gag order while Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan and Knicks president Isiah Thomas worked out the former coach's departure. Players were free to talk Wednesday from their summer league practice in Las Vegas.
"Coach Brown is so old-school," point guard Nate Robinson told the New York Post. "He wants everything done just like this, not getting the crowd involved. Isiah wants everyone to have fun.
"At first he [Brown] was trying to take my joy [away] -- don't do this, don't do that. At the same time I had people in my corner saying, 'Don't ever change who you are. You got here by being who you are. By being Nate Robinson,'" he said.
Robinson was one of three prominent rookies on the roster last season whose playing time fluctuated wildly.
"Toward the end of the season it was so up and down," another of the rookies, forward David Lee, told the Post. "I told myself when I get on the floor just make the most of the opportunity because I didn't really understand what was going on.
"I didn't ask too many questions," added Lee, who went in and out of the starting lineup. "I couldn't figure out what was going on. It's a lot easier to play when you know what's expected out of you. I think things will change that way and people will have a better idea of what they're supposed to do."
Forward Channing Frye, who showed the most promise among the first-year players by averaging 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, told the Daily News that last season was "a giant circus" and that Thomas has provided "positive reinforcement" since he's taken the coaching reins.
Reached for comment by the Post, Brown said, "I'm not getting into any of that. I'm just trying to move on with my life."
All was not rosy with the Knicks on Wednesday, however. Surprise first-round pick Renaldo Balkman, a defensive-minded forward out of South Carolina, sat out the practice session with a sprained left knee. He suffered the injury in Tuesday's practice.
-ESPN