Isiah gave Brown such royal treatment in wooing him and his reluctant wife to NY I don't think it's a stretch to guess that Isiah over extended himself with promises granted.

My guess is Brown was told he'd have roster input and then went through his usual machinations to get into guys head to either get them in line or motivate them, but key guys (Marbury) didn't bite and told Isiah through their back channels they weren't digging his approach, and Isiah told them he wasn't digging it either!

Then those players (Marbury) tell others that Isiah ain't digging it and at that point Browns authority is shot. From then on any of his usual devises to tweak dudes minds only drive them further away. When you have a coach and GM each speaking into different languages into different ears it creates confusion at best.

I suspect the players were getting all kinds of mixed signals between Isiah's public statement and then what they'd hear from Steph, Isiah's assistant coaches, or Isiah himself. And then the possibility of Anucha-gate undoing Isiah as well as rumors of firings drove confusion into chaos.

Then I'd guess certain guys decided that while all this uncertainty was good enough for Steph (cause he has that special relationship with Isiah) it wasn't good enough for them. Perhaps the many trade rumors shook their confidence in Isiah standing by them, and they ultimately decided to just get back to playing for their coach out of pride and respect for the game. That's when guys like Malik, Q and Crawford established themselves as Brown's leaders.

I don't know how many guys really need to be moved to restore order. I think Jalen for sure cause neither Larry or isiah cared for him in Indy - but he's an expiring contract and good as gone anyway. Steph, of course. Francis, probably. Everyone else I'd guess is just in need of a leader to follow, and a singular voice between captain, coach and GM would go a long way.

To me Brown lost his players mostly due to the lack of a consistant rotation and a lack of solidifying roles. Followed by the public crictism(spell)

If he would have done those 2 things then he basically would have close to thrown any crictism(spell) of Brown that people had of him this season out the window.

Has a motivated Francis been anymore successful than Marbury?

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

To me Brown lost his players mostly due to the lack of a consistant rotation and a lack of solidifying roles. Followed by the public crictism(spell)

If he would have done those 2 things then he basically would have close to thrown any crictism(spell) of Brown that people had of him this season out the window.

Guess we'll never know, but do consider this: effort and execution sucked from the get-go. Under what circumstances is it fair for a HOF coachto lose a team before their home opener?

NEW YORK -- Larry Brown wants to get his first win as Knicks coach behind him. New York's dismal start ruined any chance of that happening Friday night.

Gilbert Arenas scored 27 points, and Antawn Jamison and Jarvis Hayes keyed the decisive spurt as the Washington Wizards beat New York 86-75 in Brown's first home game as Knicks coach.

Just minutes after the Madison Square Garden crowd gave the Brooklyn native a loud ovation during pregame introductions, the Knicks were booed off the court after falling behind by 19 points.

"There's no excuse for guys not having energy at the beginning of the game," Knicks guard Stephon Marbury said.

Washington shot 70 percent in the first quarter - Arenas was 5-for-5 - and led by as many as 19 points in building a 32-16 lead. The Knicks were booed as they walked off the court after shooting 28 percent....

I agree with you that the team didn't play with the effort they should have throught the season. I don't know how many people debate that. But agian. If Brown would have had a consistant rotation, and roles, etc... Then it would eliminate a lot reasoning for fans, Isiah, Dolan, & players to criticize him. Nobody would be able to hide the lack of effort behind that.