Knicks buying out Larry?

min0 lee · 05-14-2006, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Garden chairman James Dolan apparently has started the process of ending Larry Brown's dream job after one season.

According to sources, Dolan, upset over Brown's record and the coach's public criticism of his players, is considering buying out the final four years of Brown's contract, worth at least $40 million.

The Knicks declined to comment, and would neither confirm nor deny one published report that already is naming Knicks president Isiah Thomas as Brown's successor. Brown has indicated that he will not resign, but if Thomas takes over, the Knicks would avoid having to pay another coach upwards of $5 million annually.

Thomas, who coached the Pacers from 2000-2003 but never got them out of the first round of the playoffs, is said to be amenable to coaching the Knicks, one source told the Daily News.

Knicks brass has not met with Brown since the end of the 23-59 season, according to sources, perhaps another indication of Dolan's dissatisfaction with the Hall of Fame coach. According to a team official, Brown has requested a meeting with Dolan but Thomas has told Brown there is no reason for him to meet with the club's owner.

Last month, The News reported that a majority of the players blamed the Knicks' worst season in 20 years on Brown, whose hiring last July was looked upon as a way to return the struggling franchise to prominence.

Brown, one of the most successful coaches in basketball history, ended the season with 1,010 NBA victories (he is fourth on the all-time list) but was never happy with the roster that the embattled Thomas had assembled. The Knicks played and acted like the league's most undisciplined team, which reflected poorly on the players and Brown. The coach talked often about a wish list of players more suited to his team-first, defense-oriented style, but sources say Brown has been told the team cannot be changed significantly.

After joining the Knicks following a messy divorce from the Pistons, Brown quickly reignited his feud with point guard Stephon Marbury, which began during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Within a few months, Brown had publicly criticized several players, which was an indictment of Thomas, who put together the league's most expensive roster at $125 million.

According to sources, Thomas also was upset that Brown chose to publicly air his complaints about the Knicks' flawed roster. A turning point came in late February, when Dolan and Thomas joined the Knicks for a three-day road trip to San Antonio and Memphis. The News reported that during that trip, Dolan told Brown to focus on coaching the players. The following day, Dolan gave Thomas a strong endorsement, while giving Brown a lukewarm review.

It was during that trip that Brown entered a Memphis hospital after complaining of chest pains. Six weeks later, Brown took ill and left a game in Cleveland in the third quarter, and was later taken on a stretcher to a hospital, complaining of an acid reflux problem. He missed the next three games, but returned for the finale against the Nets at Meadowlands Arena, where he let assistant Herb Williams run the team. During his farewell address to the media after the season, Brown shocked Garden brass by saying he had been suffering from the flu and that Thomas and team doctors had advised him not to coach that game.

According to two player agents with clients on the Knicks, the players staged a palace coup in front of Thomas during their exit interviews. Players never blame themselves, and they weren't about to cast aspersions on Thomas, the man responsible for bringing them to New York.

Instead, approximately eight of the Knicks' 15 players blamed Brown for arguably the worst season in franchise history. The most common complaints were Brown's failure to define roles and his penchant for publicly criticizing his players.

"The Knicks are going to have to make changes because there is no way Larry can walk into the locker room with this same group," one source said then. "He lost a lot of those guys and he's not going to win them back."

Brown could not have been surprised by the feedback Thomas was getting. Two weeks earlier, Brown admitted that several Knicks had long since tuned him out, and said that the season had been reduced to "begging guys to play."
After the exit interviews, Thomas said: "We do have a group that, for everything that I've heard today, like each other, want to stay together and want to play together, and believe that they can get it done."

Originally published on May 14, 2006

They need to clean house starting with thomas, Dolan and Starbury.

**IainDaniel** · 05-14-2006, 09:30 AM

Isiah Thomas is the biggest douce. Has done nothing good to any team he has joined

min0 lee · 05-14-2006, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Isiah Thomas is the biggest douce. Has done nothing good to any team he has joined

I agree fully. He fucked up the Knicks.

musclepump · 05-14-2006, 09:43 AM

Screw Basketball.

topolo · 05-14-2006, 11:25 AM

what is a douce?

**IainDaniel** · 05-14-2006, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topolo

what is a douce?

douche. you can use it on Doublebases mom when I am done with her

min0 lee · 05-14-2006, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topolo

what is a douce?

**Dale Mabry** · 05-14-2006, 02:34 PM

I would want Thomas coaching my team over Larry Brown any day...Sure, Brown has 1010 wins, but Thomas must have close to 100 in his 3 seasons before Bird sent his ass packing.

I like how front offices get rid of coaches and players so easily, never thinking it is the front office that needs changing. The Philadelphia Eagles and Flyers are prime examples.

topolo · 05-14-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I would want Thomas coaching my team over Larry Brown any day...Sure, Brown has 1010 wins, but Thomas must have close to 100 in his 3 seasons before Bird sent his ass packing.

I like how front offices get rid of coaches and players so easily, never thinking it is the front office that needs changing. The Philadelphia Eagles and Flyers are prime examples.

What are some secondary examples?

Cold Iron · 05-14-2006, 07:06 PM

what a joke that whole org. is

Mino, do you miss Layden?

min0 lee · 05-14-2006, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cold Iron

what a joke that whole org. is

Mino, do you miss Layden?

Nope, he sucked also.

Dave Checketts and Ernie Grunfeld ran a better show.

Cold Iron · 05-14-2006, 07:18 PM

i know, Layden was a joke.

just playin with ya

min0 lee · 05-14-2006, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cold Iron

i know, Layden was a joke.

just playin with ya

Oh, yeah...he was bad but damn..Thomas does not know how to put together a team.

05-14-2006, 09:30 AM	#2
IainDaniel My Role Model Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 15,137	Isiah Thomas is the biggest douce. Has done nothing good to any team he has joined
	Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Michael Jordan

05-14-2006, 09:43 AM	#4
musclepump Celebrity PersonalTrainer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,664 Photos: 128	Screw Basketball.
	Let's all join together and SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA.

05-14-2006, 02:34 PM	#8
Dale Mabry Moderator Moderator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Elsewhere Posts: 13,748 Photos: 10	I would want Thomas coaching my team over Larry Brown any day...Sure, Brown has 1010 wins, but Thomas must have close to 100 in his 3 seasons before Bird sent his ass packing. I like how front offices get rid of coaches and players so easily, never thinking it is the front office that needs changing. The Philadelphia Eagles and Flyers are prime examples.
	If sense were common, everyone would have it. 4/2007-Current 75th Ranked most popular image 1 spot behind Prince's bulge...

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05-14-2006, 11:25 AM	#5
topolo Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Uranus Posts: 4,959 Photos: 2	what is a douce?

05-14-2006, 07:06 PM	#10
Cold Iron High $ociety Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: ONtario Posts: 1,616	what a joke that whole org. is Mino, do you miss Layden?

05-14-2006, 07:18 PM	#12
Cold Iron High $ociety Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: ONtario Posts: 1,616	i know, Layden was a joke. just playin with ya