Matthew Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 (edited) Well, it will be interesting in New York next season, to say the least. The New York Knicks fired coach Larry Brown on Thursday, replacing him as coach with president and general manager Isiah Thomas. Larry Brown timeline Years Team Record 72-74 Carolina Cougars 104-64 74-79 Denver Nuggets 251-134 79-81 UCLA Bruins 42-17 81-83 New Jersey Nets 91-67 83-88 Kansas Jayhawks 135-44 88-91 San Antonio Spurs 153-131 91-93 Los Angeles Clippers 64-53 93-97 Indiana Pacers 190-138 97-03 Philadelphia 76ers 255-205 03-05 Detroit Pistons 108-56 05-06 New York Knicks 23-59 Brown's future had been in question since reports surfaced last month that owner James Dolan wanted to buy out his contract. The Knicks finished 23-59, tying the franchise record for losses, in Brown's first season. On Thursday, Dolan made the switch official. "Larry has had a long and storied career. We hired him last summer with the expectation that he would be with the Knicks for a long time. Sometimes decisions work and sometimes they don't," Dolan said. "After careful consideration, despite the best intentions from everyone involved, this current structure did not work for us last season and I did not think it was going to improve next season." Thomas, who joined the Knicks as president and general manager on Dec. 22, 2003, previously served as a head coach with the Indiana Pacers for three seasons from 2000-01 through 2002-03. His Pacers teams were 131-115 record, making the playoffs in each of his three seasons. "No one in our organization is happy with last season and we all accept responsibility for our performance," Thomas said. "This has been a difficult time for the entire organization and our fans. Today begins the 2006-07 season for the Knicks, and I strongly believe we are on the right track to take major steps in our rebuilding process to achieve our goal of being one of the premier teams in the NBA." Brown's worst seasons as NBA coach Team Record Season w/team Next season with team '88-89 Spurs 21-61 First 56-26* '05-06 Knicks 23-59 First Fired '97-98 76ers 31-51 First 28-22* *Made playoffs Buying out Brown, who signed a deal with the Knicks amid much hoopla last July, taking over what he then called a "dream job," could cost the team as much as $40 million. Brown wanted the team to overhaul the roster that Thomas had assembled and feuded openly with star Stephon Marbury. The coach perplexed his players and eventually lost their support by constantly switching lineups and rotations, never quite settling on any set combination over the course of the 82-game season. His penchant for making thinly veiled criticisms of his players through the media irked his players nearly as much as it bothered the team's corporate owners at Cablevision. Despite the players' and management's strangely rosy pronouncements on the day after the season ended, all was certainly not well inside the franchise. One of Brown's final moves that left several key people scratching their heads was his use (or non-use) of Steve Francis and Jalen Rose after they were acquired at midseason. Brown received a $7 million buyout with the Pistons in July 2005 after Detroit owner Bill Davidson also came to the realization that he'd be better off with a different coach. The divorce of the Pistons and Brown also turned into a bitter breakup. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Edited June 22, 2006 by Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 I thought he'd already gone over the edge before the last All Star game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted June 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 (edited) What does Thomas have to hold over Dolan that he thinks the person who created the mess is the one to get the Knicks out of it? Salary cap problems thanks to Thomas; over-priced players thanks to Thomas; everyone watching their backs thanks to Thomas. I'll ask this question again: How does this guy keep finding a job? Edited June 22, 2006 by Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 What does Thomas have to hold over Dolan that he thinks the person who created the mess is the one to get the Knicks out of it? Salary cap problems thanks to Thomas; over-priced players thanks to Thomas; everyone watching their backs thanks to Thomas. I'll ask this question again: How does this guy keep finding a job? Can't add much to that. I'll just add an "amen" to what you wrote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 What does Thomas have to hold over Dolan that he thinks the person who created the mess is the one to get the Knicks out of it? Salary cap problems thanks to Thomas; over-priced players thanks to Thomas; everyone watching their backs thanks to Thomas. I'll ask this question again: How does this guy keep finding a job? Hey - his name is Isiah. He must be a prophet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 Isiah is a prophet that has the Knicks operating at a loss. It's going to take more than a coaching change to get the Knicks out of the cellar. They could start to get real comfy there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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