- it's a great feeling to be in pheonix. to be in the sunshine, out of the cold weather and to win 8 straight feels great.

- playing for nash is unbelievable. he's the floor general and gets everyone involved. it's the d'antoni system where they push the ball up the floor and suprising is that they're playing defense.

- he had to go through an adjustment period. to find his niche. and now he's comfortable and realizes where he needs to be and he's starting to hit shots.

- d'antoni wanted kurt to do what he was doing in ny. play solid defense and rebound. be the enforcer.

- he lost some weight so he could run up and down in that system.

- he just wanted to come in a help anyway. he was penciled in as the 4th option but doesn't care, he just wanted to help.

- it's still early and they're still getting to know each other. he thinks they can give the spurs a run for the money.

- there is no relationship with stephon. he thinks steph is a great player, tremendous scorer, tremendous athlete. he enjoyed playing with him but sometimes didn't see eye to eye on the floor. there are certain plays steph wanted to run down the stretch but he didn't agree with it. defensively, they didn't see eye to eye on how to defend screen and rolls. and on the court, he didn't like the way steph looked at him and stuff like that.

- he doesn't think he was traded b/c of steph. ny wanted to get younger and he knew they
weren't going to trade steph so they were going to trade him.

- he never told the knicks about being traded or possible destinations.

- is steph the best pg in the nba? he doesn't think he's the best. the way you become that is by winning the championship or winning the mvp. and he hasn't done that yet. and so far, nash is a better pg than steph.

- he holds no grudges towards anyone.

- it's been rough to watch the knicks. a little disappointing with the size they have inside. you just have to be patient with them and with all the changes isiah's made, it's hard to get everything working right away.

I wonder how much Steph hates playing with AD if he didn't like Kurt who at least hit his shots every now and then and got him his assists

Posted by Knight:

^Maybe LB starts AD to piss Marbs off. Plus, the fact that LB says he loves KT must piss Marbs off too. Marbs is playing like piss too.

there are other possibilities. maybe lb and steph ARE on the same page and he's just starting these guys with him until they get moved. steph really had to start games this year without any real help.

OR

this could be a test for marbury as well to see how he responds. it could be a way to break him down and show him that he can't do it himself like he always had (with those duds out there) and that he needs to be appreciative of his teammates so when he does get to start with crawford, frye, and curry, he'll give up the rock.

"He's one of my favorites," Brown said of Thomas. "He just plays. He's got toughness. He can make a shot; he makes his teammates better. He does whatever it takes to win."

What would your response be if your coach said that about someone you despise? Hearing this must eat at Steph.

IMO, Brown wants guys like AD and Malik to be locker room leaders, and guys just don't get that kind of credibility unless they get playing time. Guys don't want to listen to has-beens, or guys not in the trenches and in the mix. And in the case of AD, who was considering retiring rather than join the knicks, I'm pretty sure Isiah and LB convinced him he would play a large role in what they were trying to accomplish here, which probably entailed a fair amount of PT.


Larry could use
allies like Davis



Rookie Channing Frye is stepping into a divided locker room at the Garden.
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Just as the Knicks are counting on Eddy Curry to provide a presence in the post, they're looking to Antonio Davis to make his presence felt in another area, no less critical: their divided locker room.
But Davis - who was traded to New York along with Curry but has told Brown that he'd rather not leave Chicago for the Knicks - might never enter the Knicks' dressing room, which has been one big tension convention since Isiah Thomas brought Stephon Marbury to New York. More than a few teammates have been at odds with Marbury and eventually became ex-teammates. Kurt Thomas was one. Tim Thomas, sent to the Bulls as part of the Curry deal, was another. They and a few others who are still around hate the fact that Marbury has more clout with the team president than he should.

With Larry Brown, you know that will change. You know Brown will use his power to push for the addition of one of what he calls his "character guys." Just as Phil Jackson had Ron Harper in his first go-round with the Lakers to get his message across in the locker room - while Harper also dutifully reported back to Phil on what the climate was in there with Shaq and Kobe - Brown wants one of his character guys to serve as his eyes, ears and mouth when it's players-only in the dressing room. And, in this case, to lessen, if not stamp out, the Marbury influence.

Brown might have been in Detroit the last two years, but he knows that Marbury has been a divisive element at the Garden. There's no room for that on a Larry Brown team. He has a program and everyone needs to get with it - with no interference from star players or star executives.

"I thought it would be such a neat thing to have him here with our young kids," Brown said yesterday about Davis, whom he coached in Indiana. "But if it's not in his best interest, then we'll move on. ... I don't want to stand in the way if he doesn't feel comfortable. I'd be disappointed, but you don't want somebody who doesn't want to be here."

Brown is going to be more than just disappointed if Davis doesn't come to New York to be a locker-room leader. He's perfect for the role, which, incidentally, he was filling for Scott Skiles in Chicago before this week's trade. He's got the stature - he's president of the Players Association. He's been around long enough to have earned the respect of his peers. And he has the strong work ethic Brown seeks in his players.

"He'll have a presence in the locker room," Brown said Wednesday. "I look at him and his value will be amazing. On a young team, you need to have guys like him. It kind of reminds me of having Elden Campbell (in Detroit) and LaSalle Thompson (in Indiana). It makes it easier to get your point across to the younger kids."

If Brown sounded resigned yesterday to seeing Davis released, Isiah Thomas was the exact opposite. Here we have the first public disagreement between the two, and it's only been about five minutes since this unlikely alliance was formed. Thomas has held all the power since he arrived to fix the Knicks. But in Brown, the Knicks brought in a real heavyweight. Plus, Brown is better at his job than Isiah is at his. So clashes were inevitable.

"He has no choice," Thomas said, referring to Davis, who is expected to ask the Knicks for his release. "This isn't charity."

This is shaping up as a fascinating showdown between Thomas and Brown, but it's only the first. No one knows exactly why Davis doesn't want to be a Knick. He went back to Chicago to tend to a family matter and wasn't available. But the horror stories about Marbury's influence with Isiah are out there.

For Isiah, Davis' aversion to coming to New York has to be a slap in the face. He has been under the false impression that all 400 NBA players are dying to be on his team. Having Marbury here, that has been nothing short of a great miscalculation.

But from Brown's standpoint, if Davis doesn't fill the role, he's got to find another character guy - and fast - to starting getting his locker room in order. So don't be surprised if he begins pushing Isiah to make a trade for George Lynch. He was one of Larry's "character guys" in Philly when Allen Iverson needed some reining in. The other day, Lynch demanded that the Hornets trade him and he has been banned from their training camp.

You don't really think that Larry Brown missed hearing that news, do you?

Originally published on October 7, 2005

[Edited by - BlueSeats on 12-09-2005 2:04 PM]

Reading way too much into quotes I think.

LB is always gonna say nice things about former and other players. No fuel ot feed anyoine.

He always says he loves them, or their game! He is critical only of his current players.

I think much too much is read into the marbs-LB-Isiah thing. they are going to make it work unless Isiah can move Marbs into pieces he thinks really can help the team.

We are not in the locker room and as outsiders being fed thru the media we don't know Squat!

There are games when it makes sense for Marbs to break down the defense and drive to the hoop. As long as Marbs is not just standing around with the ball and then attacking with no options, and hoisting up shots im ok with him. Same of course with anyone else. Craw gets crossed up when he is forcing his game and not in or creating a flow.

Nate is our worst offender with his turnovers.

OUr guys are thinking way too much, but thats a part of the growth process! Its gonna be ugly at times.

When the team is flowing, benchmark that as progress and understand that is the game that will make us successful. Maybe just 10 min a game, but its happening!