Larry Brown is almost home as the 22nd coach of the New York Knickerbockers. Since I became a rabid sports fan 20 years ago, we’ve had our share of good coaches (Pitino, Riley, Van Gundy) and our share of bad ones (McLeod, Nelson, Chaney). Now we’re about to get the best one we’ve had since the championship days of Red Holzman.
Since Larry’s about to come to the Knicks, I’d like to clear the air with some points that I’m sure I’ve mentioned before.
1. Young players: All sports fans are prone to repeating things they hear on TV or otherwise get from the media, regardless of if it is true or not. I know I’ve done it many times. Anyway, there is a belief that Larry Brown doesn’t like or can’t coach young players. After repeating that mantra mindlessly for a while, I realized that it’s complete BS. Not only has this man successfully coached at UCLA and Kansas, he’s won a national title (Kansas, 1988). College basketball is full of young players – you know, because it’s college.
Moreover, it’s been a while since Larry Brown was even on a team with young players so it’s not like he’s had the opportunity to play rookies but has chosen not to. Using Darko Milicic as Exhibit A in the “Larry and young players don’t mix” argument doesn’t work because a) not using one rookie on a team full of veterans built to win now isn’t statistically significant and b) how do we even know if Darko even warranted playing time anyway? I assume that Larry had Darko running on the court during practice and probably didn’t feel like the guy was ready to play over All-Stars like Ben and Rasheed Wallace or Antonio McDyess. I don’t think Larry had a problem coaching kids then and I’m sure he won’t have a problem coaching them now. Remember, no one put a gun to his head. Larry knew all along when he forced his exit in Detroit that he was going to accept a lot of money to come to a team full of youngsters. I’m sure he’s prepared himself for this and I’m sure he can handle it.
2. Short stays: Larry is the king of moving on. He never stays put and he rarely honors the length of his contract. I honestly don’t care. It is undeniable that he is one of the best teachers of the game and that he always makes his teams better. If he can come to New York and teach the Knicks the things he believes in, namely teamwork, effort, defense and hustle then the Knicks will be better for having him. Two years with Larry is better than 10 years with a mediocre teacher. What happens to the Knicks after Larry leaves is something no one can predict. They might regress and go back to sucking, they might not. It seems to me like a worthwhile roll of the dice.
3. Headstrong players: There is a belief that Stephon Marbury won’t be able to play for Larry or that Larry won’t like having Stephon as his point guard. Again, I think that’s BS. I’m certainly not going to say that it’ll be an easy relationship – both Steph and Larry will struggle at times – but I think it can be a positive one for both individuals. Despite all the headaches Iverson caused, he still came to play every day, played hard, played hurt and gave Larry 100% on game day (insert practice joke here). Steph will do the same thing. Is Steph a shoot-first player? Sure. Does he leave it all out there on the court every night? He does, no matter what non-New Yorkers might say. He’s a tough kid and, media shots aside, Steph doesn’t get nearly enough credit and far too much blame for stuff that he can’t control. Wouldn’t you be a shoot-first guy if the best teammate you ever played with in New Jersey was Keith Van Horn? Has everyone forgotten that Steph took the Suns to the playoffs in the ’02-’03 season?
Anyway, before this posting becomes an all-out defense of Stephon Marbury, suffice it to say that Larry went to an NBA championship with Allen Iverson, considered one of the most headstrong and selfish players in the league. Steph will take his lumps but the Knicks will be putting their franchise guard through an invaluable learning experience, one that I think will benefit the franchise and will help Marbury become a better player. Don’t forget, before Larry Brown, Chauncy Billups was also considered a me-first shooter and now he’s thought of as one of the league’s premier money players.
4. Salary: People are hooting and hollering that paying an NBA coach a salary in the $10M-$12M range is sheer lunacy. I would have to agree with that save for a few exceptions. I don’t think just anyone should be paid that kind of money. I think Phil Jackson and Larry Brown have more than earned it but I’d fall out of my chair if I saw an overrated guy like Rudy Tomjanovich get a deal like that. Larry Brown is being paid to come and teach the young Knicks how to be successful in the NBA. He’s being paid to tutor some of the assistant coaches that he’ll inherit from the previous coaching administration and he’s also being paid to restore some credibility and luster to a franchise that was once one of the league’s marquee teams. Larry’s salary doesn’t impact the team payroll or the luxury tax. This is the team’s owner making an investment in his product and, for once, doing it wisely. Knicks fans should be thrilled that our owner is spending his wealth on someone like Larry Brown.
I’ve just spent 964 words (and counting) on explaining how happy I am that Larry Brown’s coming home. People will disagree, I’m sure, with my debunking of the Larry Brown myths that float around. All I know is that no one, not ESPN, not any print journalist, not any fans or other folks are right when they say that this is a marriage that shouldn’t have happened. It’s win-win for the Knicks and for Larry. The worst thing that happens is that the Knicks don’t improve at all and, well, I just don’t think there’s a chance of that happening.
Since Larry’s about to come to the Knicks, I’d like to clear the air with some points that I’m sure I’ve mentioned before.
1. Young players: All sports fans are prone to repeating things they hear on TV or otherwise get from the media, regardless of if it is true or not. I know I’ve done it many times. Anyway, there is a belief that Larry Brown doesn’t like or can’t coach young players. After repeating that mantra mindlessly for a while, I realized that it’s complete BS. Not only has this man successfully coached at UCLA and Kansas, he’s won a national title (Kansas, 1988). College basketball is full of young players – you know, because it’s college.
Moreover, it’s been a while since Larry Brown was even on a team with young players so it’s not like he’s had the opportunity to play rookies but has chosen not to. Using Darko Milicic as Exhibit A in the “Larry and young players don’t mix” argument doesn’t work because a) not using one rookie on a team full of veterans built to win now isn’t statistically significant and b) how do we even know if Darko even warranted playing time anyway? I assume that Larry had Darko running on the court during practice and probably didn’t feel like the guy was ready to play over All-Stars like Ben and Rasheed Wallace or Antonio McDyess. I don’t think Larry had a problem coaching kids then and I’m sure he won’t have a problem coaching them now. Remember, no one put a gun to his head. Larry knew all along when he forced his exit in Detroit that he was going to accept a lot of money to come to a team full of youngsters. I’m sure he’s prepared himself for this and I’m sure he can handle it.
2. Short stays: Larry is the king of moving on. He never stays put and he rarely honors the length of his contract. I honestly don’t care. It is undeniable that he is one of the best teachers of the game and that he always makes his teams better. If he can come to New York and teach the Knicks the things he believes in, namely teamwork, effort, defense and hustle then the Knicks will be better for having him. Two years with Larry is better than 10 years with a mediocre teacher. What happens to the Knicks after Larry leaves is something no one can predict. They might regress and go back to sucking, they might not. It seems to me like a worthwhile roll of the dice.
3. Headstrong players: There is a belief that Stephon Marbury won’t be able to play for Larry or that Larry won’t like having Stephon as his point guard. Again, I think that’s BS. I’m certainly not going to say that it’ll be an easy relationship – both Steph and Larry will struggle at times – but I think it can be a positive one for both individuals. Despite all the headaches Iverson caused, he still came to play every day, played hard, played hurt and gave Larry 100% on game day (insert practice joke here). Steph will do the same thing. Is Steph a shoot-first player? Sure. Does he leave it all out there on the court every night? He does, no matter what non-New Yorkers might say. He’s a tough kid and, media shots aside, Steph doesn’t get nearly enough credit and far too much blame for stuff that he can’t control. Wouldn’t you be a shoot-first guy if the best teammate you ever played with in New Jersey was Keith Van Horn? Has everyone forgotten that Steph took the Suns to the playoffs in the ’02-’03 season?
Anyway, before this posting becomes an all-out defense of Stephon Marbury, suffice it to say that Larry went to an NBA championship with Allen Iverson, considered one of the most headstrong and selfish players in the league. Steph will take his lumps but the Knicks will be putting their franchise guard through an invaluable learning experience, one that I think will benefit the franchise and will help Marbury become a better player. Don’t forget, before Larry Brown, Chauncy Billups was also considered a me-first shooter and now he’s thought of as one of the league’s premier money players.
4. Salary: People are hooting and hollering that paying an NBA coach a salary in the $10M-$12M range is sheer lunacy. I would have to agree with that save for a few exceptions. I don’t think just anyone should be paid that kind of money. I think Phil Jackson and Larry Brown have more than earned it but I’d fall out of my chair if I saw an overrated guy like Rudy Tomjanovich get a deal like that. Larry Brown is being paid to come and teach the young Knicks how to be successful in the NBA. He’s being paid to tutor some of the assistant coaches that he’ll inherit from the previous coaching administration and he’s also being paid to restore some credibility and luster to a franchise that was once one of the league’s marquee teams. Larry’s salary doesn’t impact the team payroll or the luxury tax. This is the team’s owner making an investment in his product and, for once, doing it wisely. Knicks fans should be thrilled that our owner is spending his wealth on someone like Larry Brown.
I’ve just spent 964 words (and counting) on explaining how happy I am that Larry Brown’s coming home. People will disagree, I’m sure, with my debunking of the Larry Brown myths that float around. All I know is that no one, not ESPN, not any print journalist, not any fans or other folks are right when they say that this is a marriage that shouldn’t have happened. It’s win-win for the Knicks and for Larry. The worst thing that happens is that the Knicks don’t improve at all and, well, I just don’t think there’s a chance of that happening.
8 comments:
While a lot of the Larry Brown experiment is unknowable unknowables I will agree with MJ on the time horizon. The biggest criticism I hear is that Larry won't be around after 2-3 years. Please tell me the number of coaches that are around after 3 years? I mean seriously theres Sloan out at Utah and Popvitch in San Antonio and thats about it. Coaches in the NBA have a shorter life expectancy than a Michigan fan at a Buckeyes game. I don't know if Larry will turn the Knicks into a playoff team but I do know that the time horizon isn't one of the major problems. My question though is if the Knicks can't win is the heat going to fall on Larry or on Isiah, who assembled this team.
The good thing about NYC is that when the heat comes, it comes from all sides and to all involved. There are no BS firings in NYC like there are in other cities. When a team shits the bed, everyone catches the executioner's ax. If and when the Larry Brown era turns into a huge disaster, Zeke will get fired, Larry will quickly force his way out and the entire front office and coaching staff will be booted.
I've always said that I don't care if the Larry Brown era turns the Knicks into championship contenders or even playoff regulars. All I want out of the Larry Brown era is to go back to being a respected team in the league, a team that no one wants to see on their upcoming schedule. That's all that matters to me.
One a note to Mike about Michigan fan at a Buckeye game. My sister-in-law and I (both avid Michigan fans) survived not one, not two, but a total of three outings at a UM-OSU football game. I think that the Buckeyes just have a heartfelt love for the Maize and Blue.
Kudos to Mighty Mike & MJ for pointing out that no one lasts 3 years anyways. It's completely true.
I'm intrigued to say the least of how Larry Brown will handle Stephon Marbury. Honestly though, Larry Brown has held about 20 different prominent coaching positions throughout his career, and if there was ever a time for him to crash and burn, this is it! It will be like when Jimmy Johnson coached the Dolphins, when Joe Montana was on the Chiefs, or even like when Lenny Wilkens coached the Knicks. This will be something we will soon forget, because it will be a debacle.
I have no idea what "crash and burn" mean in the Larry Brown to NY context. That they'd win fewer than the 33 they won last year? Unlikely. Like I said, there is no downside here because it's not like they're a good team right now. They can't get any worse so all they can get is better. Remember, it's not only about wins and losses, even if ESPN wants it to be. It's about teaching the Knicks to play the right way, the way he did with the Clippers, Pacers, Sixers, etc.
Insofar as Jimmy Johnson, Joe Montana and Lenny Wilkens "crash(ing) and burn(ing)", my comments are:
-Jimmy Johnson made the playoffs in three out of four seasons, had a .563 WP%, drafted the defense that is in place today and is keeping that franchise afloat and eased the pain of the end of the Shula/Marino regime with no real drop in performance.
-Joe Montana was forced out of SF, resurfaced in KC and took the team to the playoffs in both seasons he was there. If they lost in the playoffs, one can look no further than Marty Schottenheimer, one of the worst playoff coaches in football history. His career record in the postseason is 5-12. Joe Montana's is 16-7 including 4 SB rings.
-Lenny Wilkens was hired by the Knicks because he was willing to be the patsy for Isiah's overhaul of the Knicks franchise in exchange for a nice wad of cash. The deal was that Zeke does everything wrong but Lenny takes all the blame and says nothing. I'm being 100% serious, by the way, that's what the deal was. You can't characterize it as a crash-and-burn failure when you don't even try.
I think the important thing though is that no matter how good or bad Larry Brown does it will be better than what the Knicks had previously done the previous few years and I will be shocked if the Knicks are not at least competitive.
I should have quantified what I was saying a bit (that's an understatement)... my comparison to other people at the end of their careers is just that I don't expect grand things at this point from Larry Brown with this Knicks squad. Larry Brown should be coach of the year if he ever he gets these guys into the conference finals. Hell, I'd give him coach of the year if he got them to the 2nd round this year. I still expect Larry to get the Knicks to be competitive and lose in the playoffs in the 1st round. I just don't think we'll be looking at the Knicks job as one of Larry's definitive moments. My "crash & burn" was just in reference to what I perceive the New York expectations to be, which are usually championship expectations.
I'm going to nip this championship condenter stuff in the bud right now. There is a preposterous misconception among media types and non-New Yorkers that NYC is only interested in watching championship teams and that we don't have realistic expectations or that we can't stomach a rebuilding effort. That's total crap. I don't think anyone in NYC besides the media types expect Larry Brown to do anything more than teach us how to play basketball. If there's championship hype coming out of NYC, it's not coming from the fan base, it's coming from people trying to sell newspapers. Believe me when I tell you that all of NY knows how shitty our team is.
This may not be Larry's defining job (Detroit was) but he won't fail here. He'll do his time for 2-3 years and then he'll move on and the Knicks will be a few more wins and a whole lot smarter for the experience.
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