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Rich
Posts: 27410
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Joined: 12/30/2003
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USA
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http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/25734.htm
MY HUSBAND WILL NOT BE THE KNICKS' NEXT COACH
By MARC BERMAN
LARRY Brown will not coach the Knicks next year, and instead hopes to return to the Pistons' bench, health permitting, his wife said emphatically yesterday in an exclusive interview with The Post.
"We're going to be back in Detroit next year. He's not going to coach the Knicks, and that's a fact. We wish the Knicks well," Shelly Brown said in a phone interview — in which she also revealed that Larry Brown underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic last Thursday to fix a bladder problem.
It was Brown's third surgery in seven months, and he is recovering at his summer home in East Hampton, Shelly Brown said.
Knick president Isiah Thomas has held off naming a head coach on the chance Larry Brown would be able to escape his Piston contract and take his nomadic career to Madison Square Garden.
"Isiah is a nice guy," Shelly Brown said. "Larry loves Isiah. But if Isiah is waiting for Larry, he's wasting his time. And you can quote me."
That would seem to all but officially close the door on Larry Brown joining the Knicks — but this being Larry Brown, there's still enough intrigue in the air to keep it ajar.
In a statement released yesterday, Piston GM Joe Dumars was more vague than Shelly Brown.
"Joe Glass [Brown's agent] and I have started talking about Larry's situation and we are continuing to discuss the matter," Dumars said. "As of right now, there is nothing new to report."
Shelly Brown is optimistic Larry's surgery will allow him to coach the Pistons, but it's not guaranteed. In fact, Larry Brown was quoted in yesterday's Detroit Free-Press saying, "I'm just trying to get my bladder in order. I don't really know what the next step is."
Glass spoke to Dumars yesterday to give him a medical update. The Knicks' only hope is if Dumars feels he can't wait any longer and they decide on a contract buyout.
That's where the Knicks pop in. NBA executives believe Glass and the Browns are putting the ball in the Pistons' court.
Shelly Brown said Larry will do everything to demonstrate to Dumars he doesn't want to leave. Larry will need two to six weeks to recuperate. Shelly said even if the surgery doesn't have the desired effect, other newly invented procedures could solve the issue.
"We love the Knicks, he grew up here, but why would he leave Detroit?" Shelly said. "Larry loves his guys in Detroit. Everything's in place to win another championship. He's got all his guys there. He has his team."
In his first season in Detroit, Brown guided the Pistons to the NBA championship, but a repeat fell 18 minutes short in San Antonio. The Pistons had a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter of Game 7 of The Finals two weeks ago before succumbing.
In a touching moment during a timeout with 25 seconds left in the Pistons' victory in Game 6, Brown told his players before breaking the huddle, "I didn't tell you I love you guys."
"What he said in the huddle, he meant it," said Shelly.
Brown wasn't as emphatic as his wife after the Game 7 loss as he left SBC Center. When asked by The Post if Thomas had any hope, Larry said, "I want to go get well and then see what happens."
Shelly said her family has adapted to Michigan life and they get enough of a taste of New York in the summer.
"We love it here," she said.
The Browns built a summer home in the Hamptons three years ago and Brown, raised in Long Beach, gets his fill, seeing his mother and relatives.
"It was different [in Michigan] the first year, but it got better and now we're settled," said Shelly, who is from Los Angeles.
Thomas suggested last week it could be August before he names a coach. Perhaps he realizes the Brown mess might drag on until then. If Shelly's right, Herb Williams and Bill Laimbeer are the leading candidates to coach the Knicks.
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6/24/2005 11:04 AM
