DOLAN DRAMA NEEDS ENDING
By MARC BERMAN

May 25, 2006 -- THERE were no pre-draft workouts yesterday at the Knicks' Westchester facility, so Larry Brown's heir apparent Isiah Thomas did not have to play the phony and chat up the coach as if nothing was wrong.

Brown did not have to run drills for college kids for a draft of which he will not be a part. Brown's wife, Shelly Brown, did not have to motor to the Westchester practice facility in her black SUV to pick up her lame-duck husband.

And the Knicks did not have to call the police again to threaten the club's traveling beat writers with arrest on trespassing charges.

And yet despite no charades, yesterday was the saddest of all these 11 days of dishonor in which the Hall-of-Fame coach has been made to inexplicably twist in the wind by owner James Dolan.

"Nothing new to report," agent Joe Glass said yesterday.

No timetable for a meeting, the Knicks said.

The corporate spinning has finished regarding why Dolan was leaning toward divorce, and much of it makes sense, but why Dolan has let this drag out is beyond comprehension.

Tomorrow, pre-draft workouts resume. Brown should not be forced to show up for work without a vote of confidence or pink slip. Dolan, who's spent his life in the cable industry, should know a thing or two about pulling the plug. Dolan must set up the meeting immediately, hear Brown's side and make the breakup final.

The way Dolan is handling this is more despicable than the team's 23-59 record. If Dolan is extending the Brown Watch in an attempt to provoke the 65-year-old coach into doing something rash, nobody in the league should ever forgive him. Allowing Don Chaney to show up to the Garden for a game after they had decided to fire him isn't close to these 11 days of Dolan-inspired disgrace.

Another prickly issue has already arisen that has made Brown feel more uncomfortable. The Post has learned Brown invited an unidentified college coach to Tuesday's pre-draft workout, but the coach was disinvited by someone in the Knicks front office.

Brown is said to be looking into what happened and feels "badly" for the coach. The paranoid Knicks brass probably didn't want any outsiders at the workouts.

"His philosophy is, and always has been, coaches are always welcome," the Brown confidant said.

The Browns are still livid at a Post report that depicted Brown as going "over the head" of Thomas in trying to set up a meeting with Dolan. Brown was displeased with Isiah after the Knicks president told him in their own 1-on-1 two days after the season ended that the organization had decided against the trades Brown had requested. Isiah informed Brown it would add too much to the payroll and was scared Brown might still be unsatisfied.

Thomas doesn't care that Brown wanted him at the meeting. He feels he still overstepped his bounds, and it's clear the fracture is too severe to heal.

So why the delay? At first, rumblings were Dolan wanted Brown to rehab from bladder surgery, but now Brown is ready to run through a wall. There's been talk Dolan won't drop everything to meet with Brown or to accommodate a media mandate. We've also heard it's "Jim being Jim."

Does that mean unpredictable, ornery, eccentric, stubborn? On lottery night, David Stern called the Knicks "a soap opera" and Bill Walton said, "It's killing the NBA." It's killing Knicks fans.

The best rationale has Dolan getting Brown to earn his $40 million payout by letting him do what he does best - run these drills. Brown's rep for running the best workout is unmatched and Thomas needs the help. Don't think Thomas is not taking notes on the sidelines.

If management can't overhaul the roster for Brown, even he must agree he shouldn't come back with the same cast. But until a resolution, Brown will be as much an outsider at tomorrow's workout as that disinvited college coach.



*

Scratch Sacramento off Larry Brown's potential landing strip.

Kings owner Joe Maloof sounded down on Brown.

"Obviously, he's one of the best coaches of all time," Maloof told ESPN. "But I think at this time, we probably wouldn't be interested."

marc.berman@nypost.com

Aw, poor Brown. Now he gets to feel what its like to be a Knick fan after a 23 win season that he was largely responsible for orchestrating.

I can't believe a man who runs a billion dollar organization, is making such a mockery of his own franchise.. I am at a loss for words...

Man, Berman is stretching this story as far as he can. Now no news stories generate a column about how the drama needs to come to end. I am beginning to believe Brown's agent that Berman and the Post are generating alot of this stuff to sell their papers. Berman isn't even bothering to list support for his accusations.

[Edited by - pharzeone on 05-25-2006 10:09 AM]

Posted by Killa4luv:

Aw, poor Brown. Now he gets to feel what its like to be a Knick fan after a 23 win season that he was largely responsible for orchestrating.

actually, he's going to go home with $40 mil no matter what. so the pain is only temporary.

whereas after he leaves, we're all still stuck with this mess.

it doesn't matter what berman or vescey say...they are just doing their jobs. there is no such thing as reporting anymore. those days are long gone. if you want reporting - read the AP articles only. otherwise, everything is now editorials and speculation. so if berman or vescey or isola write some stuff they heard without any legitimate facts, don't be mad at them. they are just doing their jobs.

but NONE of this would've happened if the team just issued a statement. but if dolan is trying to prove a point, then nothing will change here. it doesn't matter if lb's feelings are hurt or not and we shouldn't be happy about that either. it just proves more and more what an incompetant owner the team has and how this will NEVER get fixed regardless of who the coach is, who the players are, or who the gm is.

we are in serious trouble. i mean, like SERIOUS trouble.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 05-25-2006 10:31 AM]

Get used to it. He's not selling the team. Don't renew your season tickets. I'm not buying ANY tickets next season.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by djsunyc:

it doesn't matter what berman or vescey say...they are just doing their jobs. there is no such thing as reporting anymore. those days are long gone. if you want reporting - read the AP articles only. otherwise, everything is now editorials and speculation. so if berman or vescey or isola write some stuff they heard without any legitimate facts, don't be mad at them. they are just doing their jobs.

but NONE of this would've happened if the team just issued a statement. but if dolan is trying to prove a point, then nothing will change here. it doesn't matter if lb's feelings are hurt or not and we shouldn't be happy about that either. it just proves more and more what an incompetant owner the team has and how this will NEVER get fixed regardless of who the coach is, who the players are, or who the gm is.

we are in serious trouble. i mean, like SERIOUS trouble.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 05-25-2006 10:31 AM]

I do believe that Dolan is posturing with Brown. But he doesn't have to respond to situations just to pleased the Bermans, Isolas and Knick fans. Nor does he have to continously make statements to give Brown support on a your he currently has. He did it 2 months ago with a statement and live press feed. So everytime Berman, Vescey or one of these guys have a notion from a maybe source that Brown or somebody maybe gone, Dolan is required to issue a statement. Its really is a NY thing. If people are that curious about what goes on in the board meetings, buy some shares and attend the meetings.

he should issue a statement saying lb is still the coach or lb is fired. it's not about the papers, it's about giving info to the fanbase. posturing is BS b/c it hurts us...not brown or the media.

Its about maintaining credibility.

He owes that to his sponsers and the corps whom buy the boxes, expensive seats and Ad revenue.

Taking clients to a knick game to impress a client is not all that impressive now is it? Winners want to be associated with ohter winners.

Dolan putting his personal agenda over all is ignorant.

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by Pharzeone:

Really? How does it hurt you? Because I am curious? Does your boss normally tell you everyday that 'DJ you still have your job' Brown attended workouts, workout players with the GM. Seems like all parties are pretty much doing what teams do when they are in the off season. What should Dolan say, hey Brown is still the head coach. Well no s$$t, he has a 5 year contract with 4 remaining. If he comes out and say he is being fired, then you can say what a crazy thing to do and so on but to make statements on situations that have no change is just ridculous. Anything else is just feeding on insecurities that you or Brown may have.

it's not about telling brown he has a job. it's about telling the fanbase who the coach of the team is. i could give two sh ts about brown's feelings. he's going home with $50 mil. i'm a season ticket holder, and the way this team is not giving us any info plays a part in whether i will renew or not.

it's about the fans not knowing wtf is going on with the team.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 05-25-2006 11:09 AM]

So its about your personal interest. Then you need to adjust strategies.

Pharzeone's No Stress Plan:
1) Hold off renewing until you are satisify either way, hope for the best, then make your decision accordingly. Tell them that maybe they are understanding. I did it a couple of years ago, and they were accommendating actually. Maybe you can still can get your same seats or something you can live with if they make a choice you like.
2) Tell them no thanks now, lose your rights to renew and when they make a decision to your liking hope that you can still get your same seats or something that you could be satisfy with or if they don't make a decision you like, what do you care because you guess correctly.

Believe me those actions will save you from alot of this stress.

Posted by fishmike:

fishmike's No Stress Plan

grope wife
watch Yankees
play baseball
grope wife
pretend the NBA doesnt exist
grope wife
play baseball
grope wife

How is the Big Unit on your stress these days?