http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/418960p-353855c.html

Bob Raissman: Dolan running hoops Gulag

Friday, May 19th, 2006

There's a passage in the book "Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, " by Simon Sebag Montefiore, describing how Josef Stalin, toward the end of his life, would have these dinners with top Communist Party officials.

These men would keep their eyes firmly fixed on their plates, fearing if they dared stare at Stalin, he might do something terrible to them.

The "Uncle Joe" reference drew a chuckle from a former Cablevision suit. "You know what, working for Jim (Dolan) at Cablevision is like working for Joe Stalin in the old Kremlin," the suit said. "It's like that at the Garden. People are frightened. Nothing is as it appears there. Nothing is as it appears."

Now, it appears Dolan wants Larry Brown out and Isiah Thomas in. That's what the story is. Still, according to a few former Cablevision suits who worked for Dolan, Thomas may not want the job. And, when it comes to Brown's imminent departure, well, it is not all about his desire to overhaul the roster, which "sources" say would be too costly. Or the coach's "deteriorating" relationship with team prez Thomas.

No, this is more about a case of insubordination - Cablevision style.

"Larry Brown violated Jim's number one commandment. And that is we're all in this together," another former Cablevision exec said. "Don't go outside (to the media) and criticize the roster, (Stephon) Marbury, or Isiah. By doing that, he was basically taking Jim to task, too. You work for Jim, you don't criticize anything. You are part of a team. You want to bitch, bitch privately."

Still, it's hard believing that when Dolan decided to spring for $50 million to bring Brown to the Knicks last summer, he didn't know he was hiring a professional kvetch, a serial whiner.

"You don't get it. None of that matters," the suit said. "Jim doesn't worry if he does 1+1 and it comes out to 2,000. He doesn't think about it and he doesn't worry about it. Jim wants what he wants. What he wants now is to get rid of Larry Brown, who transgressed."

Dolan probably is not paying attention to the media's reaction to all this. While he may be concerned about any leaks coming out of the Garden - unless it's a strategic leak carried out under his orders - he never has reacted to media criticism. If anything, this latest round of turmoil - like others - will only fuel his resolve and drive Dolan to do things his way.

Dolan is stubborn. He can afford to be. We all witnessed this when he spent millions taking on Mayor Bloomberg, Woody Johnson, the construction unions and the National Football League, to singlehandedly defeat that West Side Jets stadium project. To a lesser, and less costly, extent he showed a willingness to stand his ground by keeping Glen Sather in charge of the Rangers while the team continued to fail miserably.

Dolan would rather pay - and support - a guy like Sather, who remained silent (he basically disappeared when the Rangers were mailing it in on a nightly basis), than a confrontational Brown, who went directly to the media (often during his postgame press conferences on Dolan's MSG Network) to chastise Marbury or question the character and ability of the team Thomas constructed.

It took only eight games into the season before Marbury, whom Dolan owes about $73 million through 2008-09, and Brown were going at it publicly (Marbury wanted to move to shooting guard, Brown said no: "What are we going to do, invent a point guard?"). The conflict between Brown and Marbury (who, during the season, professed his fondness for Dolan, saying: "I love Mr. Dolan. And I love him for bringing me here.") continued throughout the season.

So did Brown's questioning his team's heart and character.

The irony here cannot be avoided. Dolan has total control of everything that comes out of the mouths of his Knicks MSG voices. He had control of Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens, too. But he could not control Brown, whom he made the highest-paid coach in professional sports history. That is the reason Brown must go. And Dolan eventually will pay whatever he must to get rid of him.

Then what?

Despite reports of Thomas replacing Brown, there is a theory being advanced about the Knicks' prez not wanting to become their coach. Those pushing this scenario say Thomas would like to see this whole Brown situation drag on until the end of the NBA Finals. Maybe, at that point, something unusual will happen and a marquee coach will come on the market. Then, maybe Thomas can convince Dolan to hire that coach.

A coach who will satisfy Dolan's desire to bring another guy with celebrity value to the Garden.

A celebrity coach who knows how to keep his mouth shut.