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bigbeast
Posts: 22333
Alba Posts: 1
Joined: 12/21/2005
Member: #1060
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By Andy Gray, SI.com
"In the past year, Isiah Thomas' performance as Knicks GM has been criticized more than Kevin Federline's performance as a father. And most of those anti-Isiah rants have been warranted.
How can anyone defend a GM who has traded for the contracts of Jalen Rose ($15.7 million), Maurice Taylor ($9.1 million) and Malik Rose ($6 million)? Why would anyone sign Jerome James to a five-year, $29 million contract when he is, well, Jerome James? Why do the Knicks need Steve Francis, a Stephon Marbury clone, when they have the original?
Yet the worst move of Thomas' rocky tenure is the one he gets the most praise for: signing coach Larry Brown to a four-year, $40 million contract. In his first season in New York, Brown has flushed the Knicks straight down the NBA toilet.
On the surface, signing Brown seemed like a good move. The much-traveled coach was on a roll after coaching Detroit to two NBA Finals appearances and one championship. But Thomas should've stopped and taken a broader look at Brown's résumé.
New York is Brown's eighth stop in his 23-season NBA coaching tour, yet his career winning percentage of .561 is just seventh among the 10 active NBA coaches with 10 or more years of service, ranking behind less-celebrated names such as Rick Adelman and Jerry Sloan. Brown's work in turning the Pistons into NBA champs looks less impressive by the day as the Flip Saunders-coached Pistons -- with less talent than the squad Brown coached -- own the league's best record and are a favorite to win this year's title.
Did Thomas not see Brown's shenanigans during last year's Eastern Conference finals against Miami, when Brown spent more time focusing on a potential job as Cavs president than strategizing ways to stop Shaq? Then, when the season ended and it was apparent that Brown had coached his last game with the Pistons, he refused to step down, forcing the club to buy out the remaining years of his contract (for $7 million) before all the other coaching candidates were scooped up by other teams. Perhaps Isiah should've listened to 81-year-old Pistons owner Bill Davidson, who called his ex-coach a "bad person."
This year Brown has been nothing short of atrocious behind the bench. Sure, his sympathizers will say the Knicks are a bunch of mismatched parts and big egos, but isn't it the coach's job to make mismatched parts work and, more important, deal with oversized egos? Wasn't Brown praised from here to Secaucus when he led the Sixers to the NBA Finals by getting Allen Iverson to buy into his system?
This year's Knicks team is built to run. Marbury is at his best when given space to improvise and use his strength and speed to attack the basket. Quentin Richardson thrived in the Suns' up-tempo pace, leading the NBA in three-pointers last season. Eddy Curry and Channing Frye are among the NBA's most athletic big-man combos. Wing players such as Jamal Crawford and Qyntel Woods are more effective in a fast-paced offense. Nate Robinson is one of the NBA's most exciting players when given a chance to play. James, Taylor and the two Roses should sit. Francis and Marbury should play together to see if they can be effective. If not, the team can see which star guard it wants to keep and use the other as trade bait in hopes of landing Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal.
For Thomas, the end may be near. The Knicks need to do something this summer to right the ship. Firing the coach is not an option when that coach is under contract for another three years and $30 million. For all the bad contracts Thomas has burdened the Knicks with, the one he received the most accolades for is the one that will cost him his job. Ironic, isn't it?"
No way am I trying to discredit or ignore his history, but isn't the job of a great coach to adjust to the players he has?
Pat Riley went from Showtime (with Magic, Worthy, Scott etc) to a grind-it-out defensive slugfest with the Knicks. He adjusted to his roster.
Bill Parcells coached a Giant team that was a defensive, smashmouth, clock dominating team. Then he goes to the Patriots and adjust to the strong Armed QB and let him air-it-out to the fast receivers he had.
From the moment Brown shook Isiahs hand to except the coaching job, he began complaining about the roster. Let Brown tell it, and you would have assumed Sweetney, and TT were perenial allstars because not a day went by when he didn't mention how he thought they would be here (How quickly Brown forgets that he traded Tim Thomas twice).
Brown was setting up a safety net form himself by letting everyone know this roster was flawed. Never mind that he's a hall of fame coach who was paid 10 million dollars to fix this mess.
Brown needs to understand the right way is utilizing your players strengths, while minimizing their weaknesses (and not belittling them in the press which not only can destroy the confidence and trust of your players, but downgrade there trade value). How is Brown supposed to get the players he wants and he keeps telling everyone the players he has ain't very good?
"Man, who knows with this team." Aguirre.
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I am not sure what you are saying, but what I am saying is that Gray made points that I, and Enyspree, and Holfresh, and a few others have been making for months.
3/19/2006 6:24 PM