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djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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Posted by BlueSeats:
Posted by djsunyc:
at the end of the day, lb wanted billups gone but dumars said no. lb could want marbury gone too but isiah could say no.
dj, you're pretty good with the articles. I never actually saw where that rumor originated, and i haven't been able to google it. do you happen to have it?
i did a quick google search, but i got it from ian o'connor's recent article. i'm not sure who originally reported it but if i find it i'll post it. here's ian's article:
Memo to Dolan: time to cash out Brown
By IAN O'CONNOR
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: May 25, 2006)
Don't do it, Jimbo. Don't even think about it.
Don't let Larry Brown burrow his way back into your life.
Mr. Dolan. Jimmy, my boy. Listen up before you grant one last audience to a basketball coach who keeps committing flagrant fouls against his own body of Hall of Fame work.
This is the same Larry Brown who wanted the Pistons to trade Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince before they won him his only NBA crown.
This is the same guy who trashed the Olympic selection committee after he approved every single pick it made for Athens. This is the same guy who wanted Jalen Rose and Steve Francis in New York one minute, and wanted them booked for the first stretch limo out of town the next.
He's going to charm you in that meeting, Jimbo, whenever and wherever it comes off. He's going to say you promised him a roster full of Larry Brown players last summer during a pathetically public courtship, even though Brown's idea of a Brown player changes more often than his starting lineup.
Brown's going to tell you that he's finally healthy, that his recent bladder surgery made him a new man, that you're going to get the Larry Brown you paid for in the 2006-07 season and beyond. He's going to tell you he'll be a good boy in the papers, too.
He'll pledge to pass on every on-the-record and off-the-record chance to tarnish the star in Starbury and to ridicule Isiah Thomas, who deserved better — no matter how his moves worked out — from a man he waited and waited and waited on, ultimately giving him $50 million while sacrificing any credit he might otherwise get if the Knicks ever won.
Brown's going to work you, Jimbo, and work you real good, even if Thomas is sitting right there in the same room. Watch your back, and your front. Brown is a lot better at moving and shaking these days than he is at settling on a rotation.
Before you know it, Brown will have you believing that 23-59 was part of his master plan. He'll point you toward the 1988-89 season in San Antonio, where he won all of 21 games before winning 56 and 55 the next two seasons. Brown won't mention that David Robinson showed up after the 21-victory season; he'll hope, or assume, that you're too clueless a basketball owner to have recalled.
Brown will refer you to his first year in Philly, his 31-51 year, and the five straight playoff seasons that followed, including a trip to the Finals. Brown will hope, or assume, you didn't bother reading his own quotes this past season, when he insisted — in Lloyd Bentsen, Dan Quayle, Jack Kennedy form — that Stephon Marbury was no Allen Iverson.
The guy knows all the angles. The Pistons gave him $13 million, including buyout pay, last year, and now you're willing to give him his entire five-year contract to make him disappear. Anyone who positions himself to make $63 million for two seasons as a gym teacher definitely qualifies as a player.
He's not going to settle for a nickel less than the $40 million coming his way. But give him the full balance, anyway, for it's better than the alternative: another hate-fest of a season lowlighted by the acquisition of more bloated contracts — in a vain attempt to appease Brown — and the eventual firing of the coach, who'll still end up with the $40 million.
Brown won 23 games with a $125 million payroll and a roster more talented than those that secured 33 to 39 victories over the previous three seasons for Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams. But you don't want to fire him because of the numbers, Jimbo. You want to fire him because your gut tells you that no matter what Brown says about next year, he's going to burn your organization to a back-page stake.
Trust your gut on this one. No, it's not easy. Your gut has let you and all of New York down in a monumental way. In fact, your track record says you are among the very worst owners in the league. Maybe you can arm wrestle Paul Allen for the title.
Only before you do, Jimbo, make sure you play the kind of defense your Knicks didn't play all season. Brown's going to throw his entire playbook at you. He hasn't landed eight head-coaching jobs in the NBA and two in major college ball for nothing.
Fend him off, box him out, do what I told you to do five weeks ago: hand over the cash and be done with it.
If Isiah can't coach this team to playoff contention next season, then run him out of here, too, so a legitimate rebuilding job can begin. But for now, Brown needs to be put away, knocked hard to the canvas.
He's dangerous on the ropes, Jimbo, so be careful as you stagger in. Ring the bell, pay the purse, and send in the underlings to mop up the blood.
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6/18/2006 12:15 PM