Knicks fire Brown, name Thomas new coach

[Irish Envy]

NEW YORK -- Larry Brown was fired by the New York Knicks on Thursday and replaced as coach by president and general manager Isiah Thomas.

In Brown's one season in New York, the Knicks stumbled to a 23-59 record -- second worst in the NBA and matching the most losses in club history.

Brown endured a miserable season with the Knicks, squabbling with star guard Stephon Marbury and other players and missing three games in April because of illness. He had only one worse season as a coach, when he went 21-61 with the San Antonio Spurs in 1988-89.

His coaching status had been in limbo for months, and reports surfaced in May that owner James Dolan was looking to buy out Brown's contract. It was at about that time that Brown called himself a "dead man walking" because of the uncertainty.

The Hall of Fame coach signed a five-year deal with the Knicks before last season worth a reported $50 million.

The Knicks told Brown they are not going to pay him the full $40 million left on his deal, the New York Daily News reported. Sources told the paper that the Knicks are going to allow NBA commissioner David Stern to arbitrate what compensation is owed to the Hall of Fame coach.

Brown, a Brooklyn native, described his hiring last year as a "dream job," and the Knicks hoped his homecoming would lead to a long-awaited return to the playoffs. But despite a league-high payroll of more than $120 million, New York struggled throughout the season.

"No one in our organization is happy with last season and we all accept responsibility for our performance," Thomas said in a statement released by the Knicks. "This has been a difficult time for the entire organization and our fans.

"Larry Brown is a great coach, but for various reasons, bringing him to the Knicks did not turn out the way we had hoped and we wish him the best in the future."

Thomas joined the Knicks as president and GM in December 2003. He was coach of the Indiana Pacers for three seasons through 2002-03, compiling a 131-115 record.

Brown coached the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title in the 2003-04 season. He missed 17 games the following year with the Pistons because of hip replacement surgery. That led to a bladder problem that required surgery in November. He had offseason surgery to address the problem.

"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," Dolan said. "Sometimes decisions work and sometimes they don't."

Source: ESPN.com

 

[Irish Envy]

Isiah's Four Step plan to ruin the New York Knicks is almost complete.

 

[punishment]

I love Isaiah Thomas, he was my favorite basket ball player as a kid. Had his jersey, all his basket ball cards, never missed a Pistons game on TV.

But, he sucks as a coach and as a manager (or whatever his position with the Knicks is.) He already proved he couldn't coach at Indiana, and he has proven that he can't manage a team in NY. Maybe its time to give TV commentating a try. If Charles Barkley can do it, anybody can. Can someone think of anything that Barkley has contributed to sports commentating. Isaiah, give this a try.

 

[KMac151993]

He is about as worthless as they come in terms of coaching/managing a team.

 

[donjuan]

How about being brutally honest? Sir Charles breaks the mold. There's no political correctness with him! And that's great! You hear the mindless dribble year after year after year of stating the obvious; but you never hear someone with balls. No more white noise on TNT! Finally someone like Barkley steps forward and calls people out. For example; Kobe Bryant scoring 80 points. When you say controversial things night in and night out, you're not going to keep everyone pleased! However, people know where you stand! Listen to guys like Greg Anthony, Stephen A, even my favorite, Stewart Scott. These guys say one thing one day about certain all stars, then have these all stars on there shows and say another! This whole "I just want to keep my all star friends" attitude is BS! You know it, they know it, everyone knows it. So when criticizing the Round Mound, please keep that in mind! "There are are leaders and followers in this world, which one are you?" I know what Chuck is. -don

 

[donjuan]

Also, Larry's loving every bit of this. He get's paid to do nothing! (which is what he did last year consequently) So, to Isaiah, good luck! Maybe he's the next Avery? Probaby not, but you never know! -don

 

[jiggafini19]

They could very well be the most inept and poorly managed team in professional sports at this very moment. A complete and utter joke.

Alas, it is the Knicks so I couldn't care less. I hope they go into an LA Clipper spiral of sucking for decades to come.

 

[KMac151993]

They could very well be the most inept and poorly managed team in professional sports at this very moment. A complete and utter joke.

Alas, it is the Knicks so I couldn't care less. I hope they go into an LA Clipper spiral of sucking for decades to come.

Even worse then the Cubs?

HAHA even being a diehard Cubs fan I believe the Knicks are much worse.

 

[punishment]

How about being brutally honest? Sir Charles breaks the mold. There's no political correctness with him! And that's great! You hear the mindless dribble year after year after year of stating the obvious; but you never hear someone with balls. No more white noise on TNT! Finally someone like Barkley steps forward and calls people out. For example; Kobe Bryant scoring 80 points. When you say controversial things night in and night out, you're not going to keep everyone pleased! However, people know where you stand! Listen to guys like Greg Anthony, Stephen A, even my favorite, Stewart Scott. These guys say one thing one day about certain all stars, then have these all stars on there shows and say another! This whole "I just want to keep my all star friends" attitude is BS! You know it, they know it, everyone knows it. So when criticizing the Round Mound, please keep that in mind! "There are are leaders and followers in this world, which one are you?" I know what Chuck is. -don

That's true. But his purpose there appears to be more along the lines of criticizing as opposed to analyzing the game and players. It almost seems like he is there for comedy releif, as some of the other commentators don't really seem to roll along with Charles' commentating, and usually change the subject on him.

Don't get me wrong, I love that he says a lot of things that should be said, but most people are afraid to say. For some reason, he annoys me. Kind of along the same lines as Bill Walton some times.

And don't get me started on Stephen A. Nobody changes their stances and positions more than Stephen A. He usually begins by stating "I guarantee that Dallas will win this series." And then at the end will say "I said it all along, the Heat were going to win this so long as they bullied Dirk, and that's why they won." Hate that guy. He did have a good show with Weis though.

 

[Guest]

The Knicks are the biggest mess in sports right now, perhaps the biggest mess ever. They have the highest payroll in basketball, pay a ton of money in luxury tax, and have so many long term contracts locked up. They can't sign any good free agents, or even make any worthwhile trades, plus they usually win around 30 something games, so getting an impact player in the draft is highly unlikely.

As a die heart Knick fan I want to see them lose every friggin game next year and win the first pick. At least then maybe we can land an impact player(Oden?) in here to turn things around. Its really the only way the Knicks can be good again, they're stuck in limbo right now, not bad enough to get a top 3 pick(were bad enough this year, but they'll go back to winning 30 or so games) and not good enough to make the playoffs. The Knicks basically have to hit rock bottom for a few years to turn things around, because they certainly can't sign any free agents.

As for Thomas, he's a joke, but the real culprit is owner James Dolan. All he cares about is making the playoffs and making a nice profit, he could careless if they compete for a championship. He's fully content with winning 40 games and being the eight seed.

 

[penguin]

OMG... I keep thinking I need to write to my all time favorite NBA player and suggest he quietly step down now. This is getting increasingly embarrassing. It may get worse. Now Larry Brown (rightfully) has begun a lawsuit against the Knicks. ...And wasn't Isiah involved in a nasty lawsuit himself, filed by a female employee ?

That said, I'll continue to watch the Knicks (this was my first year doing so) so I can follow the career of Nate Robinson. It should be good for some comic relief.