Larry Brown Out of New York?

[stuart]

This could be potentially funny. I would really love to see if Larry Brown could make the Knicks a respectable team esp with the current roster of malcontents and me-first players.

From ESPN: Link to Article

Stuart

Report: Dolan considers buying out Brown's contract
ESPN.com news services

Larry Brown's dream job with the New York Knicks could end after only one season.

Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, who's upset over Brown's record and the coach's public criticism of his players, is considering buying out the final four years of the coach's contract, the New York Daily News and New York Post reported in Sunday's editions.

The buyout is worth at least $40 million, the newspaper reported.

The Knicks declined to comment.

One published report indicated Knicks president Isiah Thomas was in line to replace Brown as head coach, the newspaper said, but the team would not confirm nor deny it.

Brown, who led the Knicks to a 23-59 season, has indicated that he will not resign. But the club could avoid having to pay another coach upward of $5 million a year if Thomas takes the job, the Daily News reported. One source told the newspaper that Thomas -- who coached the Pacers from 2000-2003 -- would be amenable to coaching the Knicks.

In April, one day after the Knicks completed one of the worst seasons in franchise history, Thomas said the Hall of Fame coach would return to coach the team for a second season. The underachieving roster was another story.

"I am loyal to winning and I am not loyal to any singular individual," Thomas said then. "I'm going to do what I need to do to make our team better. ...

"When you won 23 games, I think we'll make some changes," he said. "Coach and I haven't sat down and fully decided what changes we'll make, but we'll probably make some changes."

[LuDux]

Hey there, people, I'm Larry Brown
They say I'm the bestest coach in town
My car is fast, my teeth is shiney
I tell all the GM's they can kiss my heinie
...
And my name is Larry Brown
Watch me now; I'm goin' out

[stuart]

Hey there, people, I'm Larry Brown
They say I'm the bestest coach in town
My car is fast, my teeth is shiney
I tell all the GM's they can kiss my heinie
...
And my name is Larry Brown
Watch me now; I'm goin' out

That was beautiful.

Stuart

[stuart]

Knicks continue buyout discussions

Knicks are continuing their buyout discussions with Hall-of-Fame coach Larry Brown according to The Journal News

Knicks continue buyout discussions
By MIKE DOUGHERTY, mdougher@lohud.com THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: May 16, 2006) It's looking more and more like James Dolan will soon be reaching for his wallet.

The future of Knicks coach Larry Brown was discussed at length again yesterday by team officials, who appear to be very much in agreement. Negotiating a buyout is the next likely step.
A quick resolution won't be cheap.

Brown is owed $40 million over the next four seasons. He stated a strong desire to return following a 23-59 season made worse by two health scares. The noted perfectionist has the upper hand right now.

Dolan, however, doesn't seem to mind bailing out Knicks president Isiah Thomas when necessary. He's already spent $15 million to make Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens leave quietly.

Nobody in the organization is commenting on the situation, which is a pretty good indication that Brown no longer has a support base.

Singling out players such as Stephon Marbury in public angered Dolan, who likes to keep controversy to a minimum. He wants a company man on the sidelines and believes Thomas will make a world of difference in that role.
There isn't anyone else on the short list.

Brown made Thomas uneasy while deploying a league-record 42 different starting lineups. Thomas talked about Brown to a number of confidants around the league, saying the running commentary made it even more difficult to move anyone who didn't fit the mold.

Neither man looks comfortable in the other's presence.

And the players have picked up on the rift. Most were very clear with Thomas during exit interviews that Brown was a big part of the problem.
Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford are the only guys in the locker room that made significant changes. Brown and Marbury started going back and forth only a month into the season and never saw eye to eye.
They need more than a mediator now.

"Based on our record, that's normal for anybody to have that speculation," Marbury told The Associated Press yesterday. "I wouldn't mind (a change); it doesn't matter who coaches. I don't care if Larry Brown comes back."

That's open to interpretation.

Brown also had plenty to say about Eddy Curry's shortcomings last season and didn't seem real happy with Steve Francis or Jalen Rose, either.
He underwent another surgical procedure for a bladder ailment on Friday and was unavailable for comment yesterday. Joe Glass, his longtime agent, has not been in contact with the Knicks in the last week.
It sounds incredibly similar to the scenario they played out last summer in Detroit.

Brown stated a number of times in the final month of the season that health issues were not likely to force his retirement. He does have a history of turning franchises around in the second year, but nobody in the front office believed the first year would rank among the worst in Knicks history.

Changes have been promised, and Thomas probably believes it's easier to assume greater control of the situation than deal Marbury, even if he's landing on a hot seat.

[charlesbarkley]

Larry Brown out of the NBA. I don't want another 70-points team!!!

[stuart]

It's getting funny: Link to article

MSNBC.com
Isiah freezes out Brown from secret workout
Knicks hold workout for four players, with lame-duck coach not included NBCSports.com news services

NEW YORK - New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas froze out supposedly lame-duck head coach Larry Brown from a secret workout for four players during the Orlando pre-draft camp, the New York Post reported Saturday.

Former Knick Gerald Wilkens ran the workout, which included Fairleigh Dickinson's 6-foot-9 forward Gordon Klaiber, the Post added.

Thomas, director of player personnel Brendan Suhr and European scout Kevin Wilson watched the workout at a gym in Orlando 30 minutes from the pre-draft camp.

Brown was already vacationing in the Hamptons, the Post said.
Last month, Brown says the wait to hear if he will be fired by the New York Knicks has made him feel like “a dead man walking.”

Brown made the comment to reporters who were waiting near the Knicks practice facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., while the coach ran workouts of draft prospects. He pulled his car over and told them he didn’t know anything more about his job status than they did.

Brown’s future has been in question since reports surfaced last month that owner James Dolan wanted to buy out his contract. The Knicks have not commented on the matter, and Brown has continued to run their draft workouts that began last week.

Only the players working out have been made available to the media, so Brown’s remarks were the first made publicly by anyone connected with the team.

The Knicks finished 23-59, tying the franchise record for losses, in Brown’s first season. Both Brown and team president Isiah Thomas said after the season that the Hall of Fame coach would return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[stuart]

Larry Brown is out, Isiah Thomas is in.

Funny, I don't see much changing.

Stuart