Well-traveled coach Brown misses coaching, interested in Kings' job
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Larry Brown, the veteran NBA vagabond coach who had a disappointing single season coaching the New York Knicks in his most recent stint on the bench, would be interested in getting back into coaching with the Sacramento Kings, a newspaper reported.

"I want to get back," Brown told the Sacramento Bee from his home in Philadelphia. "I miss it terribly. I haven't lost the passion to teach and coach. I don't want to end my career at 23-59. I feel I can do better. I look at Sacramento ... I respect the heck out of Geoff [Petrie]. I coached half that team. I don't mind going somewhere that's rebuilding, but wherever I go, I want everybody to feel that I'm the right person."

However, Brown told the newspaper Saturday that he hadn't been contacted yet by the Kings and that he didn't think "it's my place to go after a job."

"I have too much respect for Geoff and people like that to put my name out there and go after it. I'm not comfortable doing that, and … if they have an interest and want to pursue it, that's entirely up to them," Brown told the newspaper.

Brown joined the Philadelphia 76ers as executive vice president in January after being fired after one season by the Knicks. Brown, 66, has coached 11 teams in the ABA, NCAA and NBA. He won an NCAA championship at Kansas (1988) and an NBA title in Detroit (2004). He also coached at UCLA.

Recently, Brown has been considered a possible replacement for open head coaching jobs in Charlotte and Memphis before those positions were filled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ailene Voisin: Brown wants chance to do what he does
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, June 16, 2007

He is the only person out there who should immediately disrupt the Kings' coaching search. He is available, accomplished and interested. He is also eccentric and impossible. But he irrefutably is one of the most brilliant teachers and coaches in the history of the game.

Sorry, but promising youngsters Scott Brooks, Reggie Theus and Brian Shaw should step aside for the moment.

Larry Brown wants to talk.

Larry Brown wants to coach.

Larry Brown wants to hear from the Kings.

Think Geoff Petrie might pick up the phone and make the call this time? Who knows? Brown could be this offseason's Don Nelson. Of course, he could also be an unmitigated disaster. He is eminently capable of drilling holes into sinking ships, forcing another one-year-and-out ouster, harming Petrie's health with his incessant demands about retooling the roster with those who "play the right way." He can be a pain in every part of the anatomy.

But this is still Larry Brown, not Joe Schmoe or Stan Van Gundy. He's more than a coach, he's an experience. If he wants to talk ... and he wants to talk.

"I want to get back," a subdued Brown said from his home in Philadelphia. "I miss it terribly. I haven't lost the passion to teach and coach. I don't want to end my career at 23-59 (his 2005-06 record in New York). I feel I can do better. I don't mind going somewhere that's rebuilding, but wherever I go, I want everybody to feel that I'm the right person."

Why Brown might be the right person for the Kings? Because his circumstances have changed drastically. He is 66 years old and mired in the longest slump of his career. He has been out of coaching for 14 months -- 13 months and two weeks longer than at any previous stretch.

While it often was said that the much-traveled Brown arrives with too much baggage, after his disheveled departures from Detroit and New York, all that baggage somehow morphed into damaged goods.

The wooing has ceased. The Larry who won an NCAA championship with Kansas (1988) and an NBA title with the Pistons (2003-04) is no longer Larry the beloved. His friend Michael Jordan spurned him for the vacancy that went to Sam Vincent in Charlotte. Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, suspecting Brown lacks the patience to rebuild without a Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, opted for Marc Iavaroni. No one else is sending flowers, leaving one of the league's most fascinating, if quirky, characters feeling lost and demoralized about being overlooked.

"There is something to be said for giving young guys a chance and not recycling coaches all the time," Brown continued during a lengthy conversation, "but I was watching the playoffs and seeing (Gregg Popovich), Jerry Sloan and Don Nelson, what a great job the old guys were doing, and I see Rick (Adelman) getting back. I look at those guys and think that's what I should be doing."

Laughing, he added, "The only time I realize I'm 66 is when I look in the mirror."

Brown, whose health problems aggravated his situation with management in Detroit, insists that his chronic bladder condition is manageable. He says he has been invigorated by the sabbatical and is emotionally eager to resume coaching. He also mentions his appreciation for Sacramento's fans -- "It's like a college environment," Brown praised -- and without prompting, cites his familiarity with several Kings.

He coached Mike Bibby to a superb performance with the 2003 U.S. national team and Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the 2000 Olympic Games. He drafted John Salmons and extracted a very productive season out of Kenny Thomas during their time together in Philadelphia. Additionally, Corliss Williamson, who won the Sixth Man of the Year award and his only NBA title with Brown in Detroit, remains a strong admirer.

More reasons to give Brown a look? For every nasty breakup in Detroit and New York and Philadelphia -- and, yes, we remember New Jersey -- the Brown portfolio offers many more successful, if not necessarily long-term, unions. He is as much a builder as he is a closer, his clubs routinely characterized as well-prepared overachievers. In 23 NBA seasons, he has endured four losing campaigns. He even took the Clippers to the playoffs for the first time on the West Coast, then did it again a year later.

In a Western Conference loaded with talent -- and experienced, talented coaches -- Brown would be a tremendous asset, even for a team in transition and groping for an identity. Kevin Martin, Francisco García, Quincy Douby and Justin Williams would develop under his precise, demanding tutelage. Brad Miller's strengths would be utilized. Bibby would be forced to guard the ball and play at a faster pace. Ron Artest would have a coach he couldn't bully, that he would have to respect.

And Brown's presence alone would return the buzz to Arco Arena and the conversation to the chat rooms. There is room for compromise, for some creative thought: "You get an older coach like me," Brown suggested, referring to the candidacy of Shaw, Theus and Brooks, "and then you have a young guy sitting next to him ready to take over in a few years. At this point in my career, that could be a good thing."

Geoff? Joe and Gavin? Are you listening to this? Are you feeling the pulse -- hey, an actual pulse! -- of your community?

Make that call this time.

Larry would love to go to Sacramento and do for the Kings what he did for the Knicks.

Posted by bitty41:

I want to see Larry get back into the game but I think he would be better served for a team that has maybe a 2 to 3 year plan. Sac might be a good fit because they defintely competed against SA in last year's playoffs so this might be a good situation and I think he could keep Ron Ron in check.

or Ron might go Spree on LB. Which might not a bad thing either!

Brown Won't Hunt Down Kings' Job
17th June, 2007 - 6:25 pm
The Sacramento Bee -

If the first day was any indication, the prospect of Larry Brown coaching the Kings seemed about as likely as Ohio State center Greg Oden coming to Sacramento with the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

One day after the Hall of Fame coach expressed an interest in the Kings' vacancy, neither party called the other to facilitate a discussion. Reached at his Philadelphia home late Saturday night, Brown said he wouldn't be the first one to call. Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie and co-owner Gavin Maloof did not return calls Saturday evening for comment.

"I don't think it's my place to go after a job," Brown said while watching the College World Series. "I have too much respect for Geoff and people like that to put my name out there and go after it. I'm not comfortable doing that, and ... if they have an interest and want to pursue it, that's entirely up to them."