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joec32033
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Larry irks cable guy
Source: Brown rejected chance to save self
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Ex-Knicks coach Larry Brown and wife Shelly brave rain yesterday after getting coffee in East Hampton.
James Dolan kept waiting for Larry Brown to say something, anything to convince him that 23 wins was an aberration and that the future for the Knicks looked bright.
But when Brown couldn't guarantee Dolan a better tomorrow, the Garden chairman informed Brown that he was fired, ending the most bizarre 11 months in franchise history.
A person familiar with Brown's hour-long meeting with the Garden's top-ranked officials last week revealed that Dolan had become angry when Brown informed him that the Knicks do not have the personnel to be a consistent winner. Although there were reports for five weeks that Dolan intended to sever ties with Brown - reports the Knicks never quashed - team sources maintain that Dolan went into his ill-fated Thursday meeting with Brown prepared to give him a chance to save himself.
But Brown, perhaps beaten down physically and mentally, was in no mood to defend his record and his reputation. In the end, the only thing Brown and the Knicks could agree on was that they could no longer work together.
"I'm glad it's over," says Nuggets coach George Karl, Brown's long-time friend. "It was getting so ugly and messy."
The Knicks and Brown still have one more fight to wage. Dolan claims that he fired Brown for just cause and has accused the coach of violating terms of his five-year, $50 million contract.
The Knicks claim that language in Brown's contract says that NBA commissioner David Stern has been designated as the arbitrator in this financial dispute. Dolan is trying to get out of paying Brown the $40 million the Hall of Fame coach is owed, saying that Brown conducted roadside interviews without a public-relations official present. The Knicks also claim that Brown failed to return phone calls to team president Isiah Thomas and that he returned from the NBA predraft camp in Orlando one day early without authorization.
A league official believes that those grievances sound "minor." If nothing else, however, they show the mistrust and hostility that developed between Dolan, Thomas and Brown. Nine months after they stood with Brown during a press conference announcing his hiring last July, Dolan and Thomas stopped speaking to their coach.
The fallout began early in the season, when Brown began to publicly criticize point guard Stephon Marbury, Thomas' signature player. Eddy Curry, Jerome James, Nate Robinson and Trevor Ariza (about whom Brown once said "he's delusional,") became frequent targets and Thomas, according to sources, believed that Brown was trying to undermine him.
Thomas questioned Brown's use of backup center Jackie Butler over James, the lumbering big man whom Thomas signed to a $30 million contract. The front office felt that Butler was playing because he was represented by Keith Glass, the son of Brown's agent, Joe Glass.
Thomas felt that Brown began piling on with his criticism and making poor coaching decisions after Thomas was slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former female employee. A street fighter, Thomas came out swinging. He held a press conference to declare his innocence against the charges of unwanted sexual advances, discrimination and "demeaning and repulsive behavior" made by the Knicks' former senior vice president of marketing and business operations, Anucha Browne Sanders. Behind the scenes, he and Brown were digging in for their own battle.
One month into the season, following a 109-96 loss to San Antonio, Thomas criticized Brown in front of the coaching staff, telling Brown to worry about coaching the team and nothing else.
"Isiah wanted Larry to play like the Phoenix Suns," one source said. "Larry told Isiah that maybe he should coach the team."
Brown and the front office had philosophical differences on style, personnel and direction of the team. Brown wanted to develop young players and find veterans who could fit into his system. But Thomas became frustrated with Brown for criticizing players and constantly changing the starting lineups.
Brown used an NBA-record 42 different starting lineups, a statistic that was prominently displayed in bold type on the Knicks' media game notes every night. It is unclear if the media relations department was ordered to include that note about starting lineups in an effort to keep it a hot-button issue. The Knicks also were upset that Brown would start players in their hometowns. The front office, according to sources, began to feel that Brown was tanking games.
The final straw for Dolan came following the trades for Jalen Rose and Steve Francis. The Knicks contend that Brown endorsed both moves only to immediately sour on both players, much to the dismay of Dolan.
However, a person close to Brown maintains that while Brown wanted Rose, he never talked about the need to add Francis.
"Larry felt that Jalen would upgrade the talent, plus he's a guy whose contract you could trade next season," said the source. "But Francis? No way. That's not a Larry Brown type of player."
Brown has told friends that he saw the handwriting on the wall in early March when Dolan accompanied the team on a trip to San Antonio and Memphis. Feeling that his authority was being undermined, Brown was upset that both Dolan and Thomas addressed the players.
The following day, Dolan raved about Thomas as a general manager but was evasive when asked about Brown's performance. Tomorrow, Dolan is expected to address the media for the first time since early March and since he fired Brown.
Thomas is also expected to break his silence before Wednesday's NBA draft. He once again is the face of the organization but he's also running out of time. Dolan has a soft spot for Thomas but he may give him only one season to prove that Brown was the problem.
"The Knicks will win more than 23 games next season," says one league executive. "But can they win enough to make the playoffs? I don't know. Who knows? Maybe Isiah is the only person who can coach this team."
Originally published on June 25, 2006
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/429685p-362293c.html
~You can't run from who you are.~
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