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djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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they reminisce over you...
here are a collection of articles that a friend of mine scrounged up and emailed me. it's an interesting read. you can see that brown really praised marbury heavily in january when we were playing our best ball...but then something changed. the problem is, we don't know what it was. in the midst of all of this was anucha gate and that was towards the end of january. that could've been the catalyst. but even till the deadline, all we heard out of isiah was getting players for the coach. and then he went on a 2 month hiatus. anyway enjoy...
BROWN'S RIP GOT STEPH MOTIVATED
By MARC BERMAN
January 9, 2006 -- Larry Brown continued to downplay his past criticisms of Stephon Marbury and believes his hatchet job on the Knicks point guard in Orlando was not done intentionally to motivate him.
It has worked nevertheless as Marbury has played his best four games as a Knick, averaging 23 points and 13 assists.
"I coached him 28 games. I questioned two shots in 28 games, and one game I didn't like the way he played," Brown said. "Steph Marbury has been great, getting better. I don't know what motivates players, but I think you try to coach them and make them better and that's what you do."
Marbury, who had a season-high 15 assists in yesterday's 120-116 win over Seattle, admitted Brown's harsh attack after he had no field goals, 7 shot attempts, 3 assists and no steals in Orlando 12 days ago did motivate him after which they stopped talking for two days in Milwaukee.
Brown denied he uses the media to motivate.
"I've been doing it 31 years," he said. "I don't know how you guys react if I don't do it, honestly. I say what I feel because I tell the players the exact same thing. I don't pick spots to do it. You ask things you see, and I answer it accordingly. That's my job."
Asked if players had to adjust to getting creamed publicly, Brown said, "You get a new girlfriend, you got to adjust."
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Brown's criticism proving effective
Frank Isola
January 9, 2006
The Knicks' organization cringes every time Larry Brown publicly criticizes a player, and yet Brown's tactics seem to be working.
Both Stephon Marbury and Trevor Ariza said they were motivated after being singled out by the head coach.
When asked if players have to adjust to him, Brown said: "Yeah, you get a new girlfriend, you have to adjust. Think of how many coaches Stephon Marbury has had in his career. But I have to adjust to players as well."
"The only thing is, they only have to adjust to one guy. I have to adjust to 15. My goal is to make 'em better, make 'em become a team. The message is clear every single day, what we expect, what we need to do to accomplish our goals. I've never had problems with players who care about winning, do the right thing, and respect their teammates."
Marbury has played well since Brown called him out. Yesterday, Marbury produced 23 points, 15 assists and only one turnover.
"I coached him (31) games and I questioned two shots he's taken in (31) games," Brown said. "In one game I didn't like the way he played. Steph's been great. He's getting better. I don't know what motivates players."
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Larry's method
Steve Adamek
Monday, January 9, 2006
Larry Brown tried to downplay the effectiveness of his through-the-media criticism Sunday, which Stephon Marbury said Saturday motivates him, even though he doesn't like it.
"I don't know what motivates players, but I think you try to coach them and make them better, and that's what I do," Brown said. "I've been doing it for 31 years. ... I say what I feel because I tell my players the exact same thing."
Asked whether his players have to learn to adjust to what he says, Brown went on, "You get a new girlfriend, you've got to adjust. Think of how many coaches Stephon Marbury's had in his career [Brown is his 10th]. ...
"He knows I wasn't happy with how he played [Dec. 28] in Orlando [when Marbury went 0-for-7 for five points, with three assists].
"But ... I'll take a bad game every 26 or 27. He's trying to do what I ask him to do on both ends of the court."
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Knicks coach praises Marbury
By MIKE DOUGHERTY
(Original publication: January 13, 2006)
GREENBURGH — The odd couple is getting along famously.
Larry Brown was downright effusive yesterday while praising the contribution of Stephon Marbury, which is a sign the stubborn coach is beginning to appreciate what the independent playmaker can do with a basketball.
It's becoming a two-way street.
"We've got a lot of guys that are playing at a very high level and I think it really starts with Stephon," Brown said while explaining the genesis of a five-game winning streak. "He's been great."
There was plenty more to come.
"I always read about me being tough on point guards," Brown said. "I think any time you're a point guard in this league, coaches demand a lot from you. I'd rather raise the bar for my players than lower it. The sky's the limit for him because he does want to do what's right. We just gotta figure out ways to help him."
Marbury is averaging 24.2 points and 9.4 assists over the last five games.
He's putting pressure on the defense and creating opportunities for teammates by attacking the rim. Nobody's complaining. He's finally reached a middle ground where Brown is comfortable.
"I'm just getting a lot more aggressive, forcing the issue a lot more as far as taking the ball to the basket," Marbury said. "I think coach understands I'm not the typical point guard. I'm not the point guard who goes out and gets 20 assists."
Still, the ball is moving.
"I just think he's much more relaxed," Brown said. "He looks like he's having fun. I don't think he gets down. It just seems like he's playing with a lot of confidence."
Marbury wants no part of a controversy at this point. Life is good considering the Knicks went 7-21 to start the season. A terse no comment was issued when he was asked whether there was still a need to be unleashed. Marbury requested permission to play like Allen Iverson back in November.
"I'd like to see him off the ball once in a while, but I don't call that shooting guard," Brown said. "He's playing like a point guard. I'm just really encouraged by what he's done. I think he needs to be in a position to take a lot of shots because he's such a threat, and he's playing so unselfishly that he'll get other people shots as well."
Teammates are in full agreement with the game plan.
"He's just playing," Jamal Crawford said. "He's not thinking at all, he's just playing basketball like he's been playing his whole life. I think it's a happy medium for both coach and Steph, and for our team."
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Isiah's taking Larry's order
Gets list from Brown on how to fix Knicks
BY FRANK ISOLA
February 9, 2006
Isiah Thomas upgraded the roster and added a Hall of Fame coach to the bench, and somehow the Knicks are getting worse by the day.
And since Larry Brown isn't going anywhere and doesn't like the team he inherited, Thomas is committed to changing the players and, according to Brown, Thomas is asking for his input. Brown revealed that Thomas, the Knicks president, told him yesterday to come up with a shopping list of players he wants.
"I spoke to him today," Brown said before the Knicks lost, 96-83, to the Nets at the Meadowlands. "He wanted me to write down what kind of make-up of our team we would like. What kind of guards, forwards, centers."
"I told him I evaluate it every day with my staff (and that) I would be happy to do that. We both want to see us win, and not in the short range either."
The request from Thomas comes the day after former Knick Antonio Davis used words like "circus" and "a mess" when describing the state of the Knicks. Davis, whose last two weeks in a Knicks uniform were certainly circus-like, also said Brown and Thomas need to get on the same page. Davis was traded to Toronto last Friday for Jalen Rose.
"He was giving an opinion, maybe saying Isiah and Larry have different opinions," said Brown, who was Davis' lone supporter in the organization. "I don't know if that's derogatory. I'm telling you that we're on the same page. We're trying to win and we're trying to figure this out. He didn't tell me it was going to be easy when I got the job. And I'm finding that out."
Brown admitted he hasn't done his best coaching job. He has used 29 different starting lineups and has alienated most of the locker room by publicly criticizing individual players. If anyone other than Brown were off to a 14-34 start in New York, he would have probably been fired. Ten years ago, the Knicks fired Don Nelson in his first season with a 34-25 record.
According to a source, Thomas is willing to trade any player Brown deems undesirable, rookies included.
"Isiah wants to make this work and it is not working right now," said a person close to Thomas. "He's not going to fight with Larry. He'll get the players that Larry wants."
Thomas has ongoing conversations with several teams, including the Denver Nuggets, who are looking to trade ex-Net forward Kenyon Martin. The Nuggets want rookie Channing Frye included in the deal. Thomas would trade Frye, but he would insist on getting another player, possibly 6-11 center-forward Nene, in return.
Also, Seattle newspapers have reported that the Knicks have had talks with the Sonics regarding guard Flip Murray and forward Reggie Evans. The Knicks don't have a need for Murray but could use Evans' toughness and rebounding.
With Thomas and Brown in agreement that changes need to be made, the Knicks figure to be the most active team between now and the Feb. 23 trading deadline. Before last night's game, at least three players were soliciting trade rumors from reporters.
"I'm guessing there will be at least two more trades," said one player.
Thomas, who did not attend last night's game, was not available for comment. A person close to Thomas claims that Thomas believed that by hiring Brown, trading for Eddy Curry and drafting Frye, the Knicks would challenge for one of the final two playoff spots.
Instead, the Knicks have faltered badly and Thomas' job security has become a daily topic of conversation. Thomas was also hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former Garden employee. Thomas has said on two occasions that he will fight the charges. As for his team, it appears Thomas doesn't want to fight with Brown over personnel matters. Instead, he seems to want to work with him.
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Isiah: Larry pushed for Steve deal
BY FRANK ISOLA
February 24, 2006
Steve Francis may not be the prototypical Larry Brown player, but when the three-time All-Star became available, it was Brown who pushed Isiah Thomas to acquire him.
"When Francis' name was mentioned, (Brown) was the first to say hey, this is a guy that we'd be interested in," Thomas revealed yesterday.
The decision to trade Penny Hardaway's expiring contract and Trevor Ariza to Orlando for Francis raised further questions about the direction of the franchise and about the working relationship between Thomas and Brown.
The prevailing thought around the league is that Thomas, the team president, made a deal that his head coach couldn't possibly have endorsed. With those factors in mind, Thomas and Brown met the media yesterday in an effort to show a unified front and to explain that Brown was in favor of acquiring Francis.
"When we talked about it (Wednesday), it was one of those things when you first think about it you say, 'Wow, I don't know,'" Thomas said at the Knicks' training facility in Greenburgh. "But then you start listening to some of the qualities that (Larry) brought out and the way he thought they could play together, it made a lot of sense to do, particularly at this time in terms of upgrading our talent level and where we are today."
Francis is expected to make his Knicks debut tonight against the Nets at the Garden. He will be paired in the backcourt with another former All-Star, Stephon Marbury. Both players are similar in that they need the ball to be effective. But Brown, who on Wednesday may have gone a bit too far by using Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe as a favorable comparison, made it known that he wanted Francis.
"If you look at the movement in the league, that's a pretty significant trade," Brown said. "I really believe he'll help us."
The addition of Francis creates a glut at the shooting guard position and opens the door for more trades this summer. With two first-round picks, Francis, Marbury, Channing Frye and Eddy Curry, the Knicks privately feel they could put together an attractive package to possibly acquire Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal or Al Harrington.
For the last three weeks, the Knicks received interest from Orlando, Denver and Portland regarding Hardaway's expiring contract. The Nuggets were willing to trade Kenyon Martin and Earl Watson to New York, but Thomas refused to include Frye in the deal.
Thomas then negotiated a deal with the Blazers that would have brought Theo Ratliff and Darius Miles to the Knicks for Hardaway and a first-round pick. But Thomas pulled out at the last minute because Ratliff and Miles have a history of injury problems. Thomas made calls to several teams yesterday but never made a serious bid on any player before the 3 p.m. trading deadline passed.
"Almost every call that we took today, one of our young guys was mentioned," Thomas said. "That's a credit to (Brown). He's done a great job developing our young players and bringing them along. They've had some great moments and they've had some embarrassing moments. The talk around the league from other coaches and GMs is they value our young guys."
Thomas and Brown went out of their way to prove that they are peacefully coexisting. Last month, former Knick Antonio Davis said that Brown and Thomas needed to get on the same page.
The organization has been unhappy with Brown's public criticism of the players and Brown seemed angered that Thomas told reporters on Tuesday that the chemistry between the players and Brown isn't good.
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Larry longs for less
BY FRANK ISOLA
March 1, 2006
MEMPHIS - Larry Brown is looking for a few good men who will defend, rebound, play unselfishly, show love for the game and listen to their coach.
Apparently, the Knicks don't have enough of those players right now.
"The way I look at it, maybe some of them can't do what I ask," Brown revealed yesterday. "I don't want to look at them and say they're not trying. Maybe they just can't and that's what we're trying to find out."
Brown hinted on Monday that several veteran players are not buying into his methods. The coach praised his young players but he also fears that their development could be hindered by disgruntled veterans.
One of Brown's many coaching associates believes that Garden chairman James Dolan should give team president Isiah Thomas the authority to cut players, including Stephon Marbury.
"If you don't feel it's working and you have to pay them anyway just cut them," the coach said. "I'll bet you that Larry hasn't changed the way he coaches. There are just some guys on that team that can't be coached. It would send a powerful message. Cut four veterans and sign four players from the D-League. You'll see an improvement."
Brown did acknowledge that the Knicks need to find hungry players with small contracts to fill out the roster this summer. In the '90s, Pat Riley discovered John Starks and Anthony Mason in the CBA. Brown noted that he had role players like Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell and Eric Snow in Philadelphia.
"Absolutely," Brown said. "I think when I got the job, Isiah made it real clear to me that eventually we're going to bring in the players that he thinks can play the way I coach. It just can't happen overnight. There are a lot of guys in the league who I like."
"The important thing is to get the most out of these guys and see if they can play the way that I feel comfortable coaching if they want me to coach. But that's with any team or any coach; you don't bring in players or have players on a team that can't play a style that is comfortable with the coach. Isiah and I understand that. He knows the guys I like in the league. It's not easy to make trades. And my job is to find out just what these guys can do."
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KNICKS WILL GET BROWN HIS PLAYERS
By MARC BERMAN
April 22, 2006 -- Days after Larry Brown won the 2004 NBA championship with the Pistons, he walked into GM Joe Dumars' office with a list of players the coach wanted traded, including at least one starter.
According to a league source, Dumars was shocked and Brown got a reprimand from owner Bill Davidson.
Now Brown, after the most embarrassing season in Knicks history, has carte blanche, and Isiah Thomas has agreed to reshape the roster to Brown's liking.
"When I left Detroit, we were one game from winning the championship and they got six new players," Brown said. "We won 23 games. To sit here and think we're going to stand pat is kind of silly. We're loyal only to the Knicks winning. Now we got a job to do. We got to change this. The owner and Isiah promised me that we can build a team the way I feel comfortable coaching."
Detroit's Ben Wallace said the Knicks need more role players, and that is the Knicks' plan, not a very sexy one. Brown has identified the three biggest needs: a playmaking point guard, a shot-blocking center, and a defensive small forward.
Generally, Brown wants players who rebound, defend and don't need the ball. That the description of Seattle's Danny Fortson, who has demanded a trade. The Knicks inquired about him at this season's deadline.
The Knicks have the $5 million mid-level exception to sign one free agent; among the targets are Brown favorites: playmaking point guard Speedy Claxton; small forward Jared Jeffries; and rugged rebounding power forward Reggie Evans.
The Knicks will look into a sign-and-trade with Atlanta for free-agent forward Al Harrington, but he's not their No. 1 priority.
Brown doesn't trust Jerome James to become the team's big-man defensive intimidator, so they plan to get involved again with Portland for shot-blocking center Theo Ratliff and can offer Maurice Taylor's expiring contract. The Blazers are looking for expiring contracts and draft picks, leading to a potential draft-day blockbuster.
The Knicks have two late first-round picks (20th and 29th). The Blazers are trying to get rid of Darius Miles, but the Knicks have more interest in point guard Steve Blake, who worked out for the team last summer.
They will shop Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, who blew off the media on getaway day and carries more baggage.
"I definitely have a difficult job in terms of changing the roster," Thomas said. "We want to make it right. GMs such as myself find a way to get [Brown] things he needs and he finds a way to win."
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May 19, 2006
Fly in the Knicks' ointment
Ian Thomsen, SI.com
Wasn't it just one year ago that we were speculating the premature end of Larry Brown's reign in Detroit?
Now the Knicks are planning to fire Brown after one remarkably pathetic 23-59 season in which the most expensive team in NBA history ($190 million in payroll and luxury taxes for their 15-man roster! No other team in any sport in any country has ever spent an average of $12.7 million per player as the Knicks did this season) finished with the second-worst record in the league.
I'm told that owner James Dolan has turned against Brown for two reasons. First, it is Dolan's conviction that Brown pushed for the midseason trades of expiring contracts to Toronto and Orlando in exchange for Jalen Rose and Steve Francis, respectively, moves that cost the Knicks an additional $63.7 million in payroll and luxury taxes through next season. Yet when Rose and Francis showed up in New York, Brown quickly lost interest in them.
Of course, it's hard to feel sympathy for Dolan on this score. He can't blame Brown for the financial disaster the Knicks have created. But it's not the money that upsets Dolan. My understanding is that he's far more worried about the future of the team so long as Brown is in charge.
The Knicks' plan -- dismissed as farfetched by rival executives, but it's their plan nonetheless -- is to ultimately lure one or more superstars of the stature of Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal. The word coming out of Madison Square Garden is that Brown has sabotaged those plans by publicly criticizing his players and diminishing their trade value.
Dolan doesn't much care whether Stephon Marbury's feelings have been hurt by Brown's denigrations in the New York papers. But the owner apparently believes that Brown's presence will make it harder than ever to recruit the big star that the Knicks desperately covet.
Brown's reputation among NBA stars has turned negative in recent years: Many of the players from the 2004 Olympic team felt mistreated by him, and more than a few of his former Pistons don't have great things to say about him either. Sure, they take the high road in their public comments about Brown, but in private -- especially among peers -- they complain about his public criticisms and his ambitions to further his own reputation at their expense.
On this point I'm sympathetic to Brown, because the question of whether or not he should criticize his players speaks to the larger issue of how fans feel about the NBA. As a general rule, fans want the coach to be the boss. That's one reason why they love the NFL, because there's no doubt that the Big Bills -- Belichick, Parcells and Cowher -- are in charge of their teams. But coaches have far less authority in pro basketball, and the abiding impression that the players are running the league hurts the NBA with fans. A lot of Knicks followers identified with Brown's frustrations this season.
But the reality is that the Knicks didn't hire Brown to teach a course in philosophy. For $10 million per year they expected him to produce results, and he failed miserably. He lost control of his team.
The Pistons paid Brown $7 million to not coach this season and the Knicks may pay him up to $40 million to not coach the next four years. That's a five-year stretch worth $47 million, which would be the most lucrative coaching payout in NBA history. And Brown would be receiving it to not coach. Two organizations have decided independently that they would rather pay him that kind of money to stay home rather than let him near their teams. That is a horrible indictment of Larry Brown.
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