10 Questions for Larry Brown
Last month the New York Knicks hired ex-Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown, 64, to take over the once-storied franchise. Brown spoke to TIME’s Sean Gregory from his home in East Hampton, N.Y., about job-hopping, hypocrisy and some unusual dating advice.

Posted Friday, Aug. 12, 2005

During the press conference introducing you as the Knicks coach, you talked about how much you value loyalty. Yet, in moving from job to job, you’ve often left players stranded. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?

Yeah, it is hypocritical. And I don’t like seeing players affected like that. It’s something that has troubled me, because you affect a lot of people’s lives with any decision you make. If I had my drothers all over again, I would have like to have been able to stay in one place. When you demand that out of your assistants, and you demand that out of your players, yeah, it’s tough to deal with.

Many coaches say, “I don’t care if I’m liked, I want to be respected.” But you’re the opposite - you want to be liked more than you want to be respected. Why?

I don’t know how you can play for somebody you didn’t like. I don’t know how you can ever accomplish anything, and be able to do your best, if you didn’t like or care about the person that was your coach. I do think you can be liked and respected as well. They’re going to see my passion for the game, and they’re going to realize I want to see them get better, and I believe that based on what I know and what I’ve been taught, I understand what I’m saying. But with all that being said, I want them to have fun, and I want them to enjoy playing for me, and that’s critical, and will always be critical. I wouldn’t want to coach anywhere I wasn’t liked or wanted.

Name an NBA player you haven’t coached.

(Laughs) Probably anybody in the rookie class.

Do you agree that the NBA has lost a little something since Michael Jordan’s retirement?

Oh yeah, absolutely. But we have the greatest group of young kids that have come into this league in a long, long time. And it’s only going to get better. Consider the young people we have - LeBron James, Carmelo (Anthony), Dwayne (Wade), Dwight Howard - I mean the list goes on and on. In my mind, it’s only going to get better. But will there be another Michael? I don’t know.

How did the brawl in Detroit affect you?

It was the worst. One, my little boy was there. Two, I just finished hip surgery, and I really felt helpless that I couldn’t do anything to correct the situation or alleviate it in any way. The most incredible thing was leaving the arena and watching the players’ kids and how sad they were. How they reacted just blew me away. Even though it damaged our sport, hopefully we can all learn from it and move on.

What’s the hardest part about coaching today’s game?

Getting players to understand the difference between coaching and criticism. You know, I don’t think it’s only players now. I think it’s a societal problem. But I think you have to develop a trust where they know that when you say something to them, you’re trying to make them better, and you’re not trying to be critical of the things they do. If I came home and ever complained about the way my coach treated me, my uncles (Brown’s father passed away when he was six) would have me against the wall and tell me, ‘the reason he’s on you is because he cares about you. And what he says, you do.’ Now, I don’t know if kids have the support that we had. If you got out of line in your community or village, there were people there to keep you in place, or to tell your mom and dad that you were messing up. That’s not happening now. Your high school coach and teachers used to be the most influential people, now you got AAU coaches and street agents and people like that. Kids have different things that I think sometimes get in the way.

New York Knicks general manager Isaiah Thomas says that, when he was younger, he started putting white handkerchiefs in his suit jackets to imitate you. Are Knicks going to be walking around New York with white hankies?

I don’t know. It depends if they have a runny nose.

While recruiting you, the Knicks sent you a tape with the cast of The Sopranos asking you to come coach the Knicks. If you lose, think you’ll have to join the witness protection program?

One of the remarks on the tape is that I move more than the witness protection program. One of the Sopranos actually said that. I don’t think about winning or losing. I’m just concerned about doing a great job.

You’ve obviously moved around a lot, even flip-flopped on certain career decisions, which is incredibly stressful. Do you have any advice for people who struggle with career decisions?

One, I don’t think you can look back. Once you make a decision you have to move forward, and that’s not always easy. Two, when I was a college coach, I used to tell kids to make a list of pluses and minuses. I always thought if you do that, it will generally give you an idea of what’s in everybody's best interest. And then don’t let one minus really sway you.

When you were in college, you got your roommate to call women and ask them out on dates, pretending he was you, because you didn’t want to feel rejection. Would you recommend that strategy to today’s college kids?

If you saw my wife, you saw that I overachieved. So obviously, it works.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 06-20-2006 10:52 AM]

When you were in college, you got your roommate to call women and ask them out on dates, pretending he was you, because you didn’t want to feel rejection. Would you recommend that strategy to today’s college kids?

If you saw my wife, you saw that I overachieved. So obviously, it works.

HaHaHa. I love Larry Brown, Period.

Many coaches say, “I don’t care if I’m liked, I want to be respected.” But you’re the opposite - you want to be liked more than you want to be respected. Why?

I don’t know how you can play for somebody you didn’t like. I don’t know how you can ever accomplish anything, and be able to do your best, if you didn’t like or care about the person that was your coach. I do think you can be liked and respected as well. They’re going to see my passion for the game, and they’re going to realize I want to see them get better, and I believe that based on what I know and what I’ve been taught, I understand what I’m saying. But with all that being said, I want them to have fun, and I want them to enjoy playing for me, and that’s critical, and will always be critical. I wouldn’t want to coach anywhere I wasn’t liked or wanted.

this speaks volumes about Larry to me. what great leader, or even good leader, can afford to be liked? you earn respect from your troops, the people beneath you, you can't be their buddy.

Posted by nixluva:

As angry as I am with Brown and what he did or didn't do this year, i'd still like to see this team be able to move forward with him. I think he's too proud to go to Dolan or IT when they meet and apologize for his actions. He might honestly think that he did no wrong. This paying him back thing they're doing right now has gone on long enough and I hope that it ends real soon. They'll probably wait until after the finals are over.

This comment seems to me to be his biggest downfall now:

"Getting players to understand the difference between coaching and criticism. You know, I don’t think it’s only players now. I think it’s a societal problem. But I think you have to develop a trust where they know that when you say something to them, you’re trying to make them better, and you’re not trying to be critical of the things they do."

He simply can't relate to today's players and I really don't know why since he's been around them now for long enough to have adjusted. If he has mentally mature players that understand old school thinking, then he's gonna have more success, but as a coach today you have to realize that you're going to be getting more and more of these young players who don't have that same mentality. YOU HAVE to be able to adjust and reach those guys in a different way.

it's a tough question. do you enforce a certain type of philosophy (old school) or do you start catering to your players?

which breeds success for the organization?

i think in our situation, we should enforce a certain type of philosophy and find players that fit it. we've been lost as an organization for so long, we need to lay down a foundation, a way of thinking for the organization and then build from that. no more "on the fly" type BS. and stick to the plan and commit to it. it's going to take a while to fix this so they have to be patient...the problem is that they're not.

seems like Isiah loaded up with the wrong kind of player and then got the coach. Dumb ass move.

Isiah keeps thinking he can collect dysfunctional talents and make them into winners. He tried it, and thought larry could do it.

Knicks make empty promises not just to fans, but are not honest with themselves.

Give larry his big money and let him go free. He was no angel this year, but this is an organization that can't make up its mind. ANd rather than digest the mistakes, dolan is having a hissy fit with Isiah and Larry.

lol... Briggs said "due dilligence" in reference to the Knicks.

Why bother? its only money