Knicks players try to throw Brown overboard, but he insists he'll return

By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

One by one the players filed into Larry Brown's office last Thursday before conducting their final exit interviews behind closed doors with Isiah Thomas. The arrangement seemed odd, especially when in previous years the general manager, the head coach and even Garden chairman James Dolan sat together when addressing the players individually.
This time, Dolan was nowhere to be found at the Knicks' training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. And perhaps Thomas felt that Brown's presence would discourage players from expressing their true feelings about the season and their head coach.

If Thomas was looking for brutal honesty, he got it.

According to two player agents with clients on the Knicks, the players staged a palace coup in front of Thomas, the Knicks' president. Players never blame themselves, even after finishing with a 23-59 record. And they weren't about to cast aspersions on the man responsible for bringing them to New York.

Instead, approximately eight of the Knicks' 15 players blamed Brown for arguably the worst season in franchise history. The most common complaints were Brown's failure to define roles and his penchant for publicly criticizing his players.

"The Knicks are going to have to make changes because there is no way Larry can walk into the locker room with this same group," says one source. "He lost a lot of those guys and he's not going to win them back."

Brown could not have been surprised by the feedback Thomas was getting from the players. Two weeks earlier, Brown admitted that several Knicks had tuned him out long ago, and said that the season had been reduced to "begging guys to play."

On Thursday, a stoic Thomas talked about the players being unified, but never mentioned Brown's relationship with the team.

"We do have a group that, for everything that I've heard today, like each other, want to stay together and want to play together, and believe that they can get it done.

"However, I don't know if that will be the case."

Next season will mark 34 years and counting since the Knicks last captured the NBA championship with no relief in sight. The Knicks are over the salary cap and their lottery pick - a possible top overall selection in the June NBA draft - belongs to the Chicago Bulls as compensation for the Eddy Curry trade.

The roster is flawed, but the belief was that if anyone could take disparate parts and turn them into a winner it would be Brown, the Hall of Fame coach with a history of doing just that. Brown, 65, was considered the one sure thing in the entire organization. But rather than improve, the Knicks finished 10 games worse than they did last season.

And now, there is as much speculation about Brown's future as there was last season when he was leading the Detroit Pistons back to the NBA Finals.

There are four scenarios that could unfold over the coming months: Brown and Thomas decide to work together to rebuild the Knicks; Brown is forced to resign for health reasons; Brown and the club negotiate a buyout; the Knicks fire Brown. The latter seems unlikely if for no other reason than Brown is owed $40 million over the next four years.

"Isiah said Larry is returning, but that's not good enough for you guys," says Joe Glass, Brown's long-time agent. "No one is happy this season. But Larry is the coach of the Knicks and he will turn it around."

Brown's strongest advocate is Glass, who has served as a surrogate father to Brown for more than a half century. The agent's outrage over reporters speculating about Brown's future is understandable, but it's also eerily similar to comments Glass made last season when he reprimanded the media for speculating that Brown would be leaving the Pistons. Throughout the playoffs, Brown said he wanted to continue coaching Detroit.

"Yeah, I said that in Detroit, but I wasn't in control of that," Brown says now. "I want to retire here. I want to fulfill my contract and I'd like to stay involved as long as they'll have me. I knew when I took the job, I was excited about the opportunity.

"After being here a year, even though we won 23 games and there were a lot of really tough, difficult times, I'm more excited about continuing."

The better question is, do Thomas and Dolan want Brown to return? The club's highest ranking officials have been consistent in their assessments of Brown: he's our coach, but he has to do better.

A turning point came in late February when Dolan took his annual road trip with the team. Thomas was scheduled for a European scouting trip, but decided instead to accompany Dolan to San Antonio and Memphis.

At the time, it was erroneously reported by ESPN that Dolan was about to fire Thomas. In fact, Dolan gave Thomas a strong endorsement while expressing disappointment in the club's performance under Brown. If Thomas was intent on stopping Brown from having quality face time alone with Dolan, his plan worked. The battle lines had been drawn. In a matter of days, it was clear that Thomas had more security than Brown. By the time the Knicks arrived in Memphis, Brown was hospitalized for the first time this season with chest pains.

Six weeks later, Brown was taken to a Cleveland hospital for what the Knicks said was an acid-reflux condition. But on Thursday, Brown revealed that he was sick from the flu, a statement that startled Knicks executives who, according to a team source, were hearing the news for the first time.

Brown appeared frail and thinner as he spoke to reporters. He still suffers from a bladder condition that may need surgery to correct. The latest confusion only adds to the mystery surrounding Brown's health. Thomas is telling Brown that he will find players Brown wants to coach. But before Thomas can attempt to revamp the roster, he and Brown have to decide if they want to continue working together.

Finding committed and tougher players is no easy task. The Knicks played and acted like the league's most undisciplined team, which reflected poorly on the players and Brown. Last month, Brown talked about finding inexpensive role players the way Pat Riley unearthed John Starks and Anthony Mason in the early '90s.

The Knicks also need a difference-maker to play alongside Curry, who seemed to fall out of favor with Brown. Both Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal could be traded this summer, but the Knicks don't have enough to get either. Free agents Speedy Claxton or Al Harrington are possibilities and either one will make the Knicks better.

Thomas will also attempt to trade Marbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose and Maurice Taylor.

"I definitely have a difficult job in terms of changing the roster if we decide that it needs changing," Thomas says. "But I'll do my best. You know I'm not opposed to working the phones and trying to make a deal to get something done.

"But we want to make it right."

[Edited by - McK1 on 04-23-2006 10:06 AM]

who are the appoximate 8 and what the hell does Isiah mean "if we decide?"

my guess

Marbury
Taylor
Lee
Crawford
Curry
Nate

Malik and Jalen may have said bits about better defined roles

Fire Isiah before he and his players complete the insurrection

[Edited by - McK1 on 04-23-2006 10:18 AM]

[Edited by - McK1 on 04-23-2006 10:19 AM]

[Edited by - McK1 on 04-23-2006 10:26 AM]

Larry has to go.

Posted by McK1:

Posted by Rich:

Larry has to go.

after the draft

Why after the draft? Dont you mean ZEKE has to go after the draft?

all i see is confusion......

Brown is saying the same **** he always says....he wants to forfill his contract ans stay with the organization...total BS

Isiah sounds as if he is stuck between firing Brown or trading.....but I think because of this whole Brown thing he doesn't really know where to start.

what the hell does Brown want? What is a Larry Brown player? Who is to say that if Isiah makes the moves Brown wants or if Kiki comes in and does it that Brown will be satisfied enough to do his job.

I mean damn....the coach needs to put guys in their roles....all Brown talked about was how guys didn't play defense......or share the ball. Brown has to put guys in roles so the players can focus on the game and develop chemistry......

Even after game 82 the players still looked like they just met.

Now everything is on Isiah to make a move.....he brought this on himself. Isiah to me has been one of the best GM's in the history of GM's......but he screwed himself by taking on the king weasle of them all in Larry Brown.

Posted by djsunyc:

we are in trouble unless there's a major exorcism at the garden.

Malik, Jalen . . . and EMILY Rose???????????

Can't count rookies, but which veteran on this team was comfortable with his minutes and role even before he got here?

Q wanted to get back to his clippers style

Malik always wants more time and a larger role

Jalen thinks he's prime time

Francis wanted out

Marbury still thinks he's the leader in phoenix let alone here

James is so pissed he's not our franchise center he's eaten himself into a stupor

Other than wage earner, what role does eddy want - designated dunker?

Mo T got fat on Houston's bench

Crawford is actually the only guy I trust from the flexibility standpoint. Sure he expressed his disappointment about coming off the bench and I respect that, but he got over it in a week and then does what you tell him to do. Play the 1 or 2, pass or shoot, embrace the coach. Gm and game plan, talk about team and leadership.

Everyone else has all kinds of suspect agendas.

Brown, won't quit just because of the money due to him. Also, his rep is sorely hurt not just because of the record but he has taken so many hits in the last couple of months. Now all these stories from Detroit leaking out about how Brown wanted to get rid of Billups so bad, last season. Dumars and Davidson both soured on him.His friend Walsh soured on him with the Pacers, King soured on him in Philly. Brown and "his" players need to grow up. This roster is not that bad, looking at other teams in the NBA. Coach and players really need to sit down and come up with a solution. At this point it doesn't matter who the Knicks bring in here. Thomas can't be really killed for bringing in Brown. Anytime you have a chance to bring in a coach of his statue, you will be villified for not even attempting to (look at Layden when both Brown and Carlise were available 3 years ago). A GM shouldn't have to ask his players to get along with their coach and shouldn't have to ask his coach to get along with his players. Pretty immature on all sides.

Posted by simrud:

You know if IT really gets away with firing Brown, I'm done with this team. Fck them all.

Well say goodbye because Dolan wasn't please with Brown's actions either. Brown never leaves a team with good feelings. Its more like well get the hell out. Detroit, Philly, NJ, SA, LA. Probably the only place where there wasn't that much of hard feelings was Indiana and that was because they didn't mind him leaving to bring in Indiana's own Bird. Brown scorches earth when he leaves.