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Phil Jackson only coaches good players. In LA he had Shaq and Kobe and in Chicago he had Jordan and Pippen that is the only reason he has 9 championships.
I believe 2 of the top 5 players in the league lured Phil to LA. I don't think Bonzi Wells fits that description.
Phil Jackson only coaches good players. In LA he had Shaq and Kobe and in Chicago he had Jordan and Pippen that is the only reason he has 9 championships.
sad news.
i think it was very admirable of hubie to return and try to coach the grizz. lots of coaches would have left after the year he had last year, especially considering the fact that memphis will not be a 50 win team again, in my opinon at least.
Brown Cites Lost Spirit for Retirement
November 26, 2004
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:03 p.m. ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The grind of the NBA finally got to
Hubie Brown, who at 71 had neither the fervor for the job
nor the good health needed to remain the coach of the
Memphis Grizzlies.
Brown called it quits just seven months after being
selected Coach of the Year, citing the rigors of the
day-to-day life in the league and a health issue he
described as non-catastrophic.
``I need on a daily basis an energy and a stamina, and then
with me it's a spirit. But the key is spirit. See, the
spirit is what gives you the passion on a daily basis,'' he
said in a 50-minute news conference in which every question
received his typically lengthy answers.
``One day you wake up, you don't have that, and that's when
you've got to understand that it's a time you've got to
walk.''
Lionel Hollins took over as interim coach, and team
president Jerry West was vague as to how long Hollins might
remain in the post.
In explaining his reasons, Brown pointed out that he had
coached 188 games with the Grizzlies over slightly more
than two years, which he equated to six years for a high
school or college team.
The grind of seven-day workweeks and endless travel became
more than he wanted to endure.
Brown led the Grizzlies to a franchise-best 50-32 record
last season and the franchise's first playoff appearance.
He said his medical condition, which he did not detail, was
something that developed three weeks ago. He had an
extensive physical prior to this season before deciding to
return.
``I've had things come up that your body gives you a
warning sign, and you'll see. Until you get up there, you
aren't going to understand it,'' Brown said.
Brown stepped down a day after the Grizzlies fell to 5-7
with a 93-84 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics. His career
coaching record is 424-495, or 528-559 including ABA games.
West, who had hoped Brown would stick around for another
year with a team that just moved into a new arena, said it
will be tough for him to stay without Brown.
``My future will be decided when I feel like he feels
now,'' said West, who came out of retirement himself in
2002 to take over the Grizzlies after 18 years as general
manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hearing that Brown had lost his spirit surprised New York
Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens, who called him the embodiment
of the sport.
``He'd rather talk basketball than eat,'' Wilkens said.
Every conversation I've had with him, it's about the
game.''
Brown returned to coaching in 2002 after a 16-year break
during which he became a highly regarded television
analyst. He also coached the Atlanta Hawks from 1976-81 and
the Knicks from 1982-86.
At every stop, Brown's teams won more games in his first
full season than in the previous year. He leaves as the
winningest coach in Memphis history, 83-85.
Brown broke the news to the Grizzlies before they left
Thursday night for Minnesota.
``My biggest regret is that I didn't meet them when I was
in my 40s and 50s because I had more to give than I do now
because I was more alert, more astute, more observant and I
saw more,'' Brown said, ``and I apologized to them because
I met them too late in my life.''
The news shocked the Grizzlies who spoke with reporters
after a shootaround in Minneapolis.
``I'm sorry because he was the greatest that I've ever been
around, and he gave us everything he had at the age that he
is,'' Gasol said.
Bonzi Wells, who had a troubled career before Memphis
picked him up last December in a trade with Portland,
credited Brown with giving him back his spirit for the game
and called him a great mentor and teacher.
``Just wanting to go out and work hard for somebody every
day, that's the way he made me want to play every day, and
I'm going to miss that,'' Wells said.
West said Hollins may remain the Grizzlies' coach for a few
games or the rest of the season. West also wants to keep
Brown, the man he calls a ``walking encyclopedia,'' on in
some capacity.
Brown said he will return to speaking at coaching clinics.
The Grizzlies had some friction earlier this season when
Jason Williams started yelling at Brown and his son and
assistant coach, Brendan Brown, during the third quarter of
a loss to the Mavericks in Dallas on Nov. 7. Williams did
not return to the game.
Asked if that contributed to any stress, Brown quickly
dismissed that as an issue.
Memphis forward Shane Battier thinks Brown deserves to
spend some time with his wife, Claire, and his
grandchildren while the Grizzlies try to continue building
on what the coach started.
``We're all luckier people to have worked with him for the
two years that we did,'' Battier said.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Quote: "I believe 2 of the top 5 players in the league lured Phil to LA. I don't think Bonzi Wells fits that description."
Kobe Bryant was only on the third team All-NBA when Phil joined the Lakers. Kobe was not considered a Top 10 NBA player at the time.
And he's still out from best 10 now!
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