Larry Brown (again)

[Rastapopoulos]

I've brought this up, ooh, a few times before, but right now Larry Brown is more available even than usual. It's pretty much assumed he'll go either to Philly or to the Clippers, both places he's been before, and supposedly with fairly great front office control. Now, if the condition of Larry's employment is that he's really the GM as well, well nobody should want him, because he would trade the entire team every two weeks. BUT, if Larry could be persuaded that the Blazers are just like the Pistons when he took them over -- very similar team makeup (Oden=Wallace, Aldridge=Sheed, Miller and Roy=Rip and Billups, Batum=Prince) and similarly well respected coach who supposedly got them to overachieve (Rick Carlisle vs. Nate), could he be tempted?

He's the only available coach (and that definitely includes Jeff "not as good as Rick Adelman" Van Gundy) I think would be a clear upgrade on Nate. BUT, he also carries a big risk. He wears on players fast, he's getting old, and he wouldn't be here for the long haul. And teams tend to go downhill fast after he leaves. (Except the Pacers, I guess...)

Anyone interested?

 

[ABM]

Isn't Larry Brown, like, 83 by now?

 

[Nikolokolus]

First off, I don't think there's any way Nate gets let go this summer, but with that said if does leave or gets fired, this team probably needs more stability from it's next head coach than Brown could provide; he'd be here for two years or so and then we'd be back to square one looking for a new coach.

Just because we got a chance to see him roving on the sidelines when Nate ruptured his achilles and apparently he's well regarded as a rising star I have to say I'm pretty intrigued with the prospect of Monty Williams. Maybe he's this decade's Rick Adelman to Nate's Mike Schuler?

 

[Strike]

I honestly don't know why Larry Brown gets so much credit. If the Blazers were to fire Nate and hire Larry, he might improve the Blazers by a few games and a round or two farther into the playoffs, but he won't be there to stay. What happens if the Blazers do worse with him? He'll bail or just get fired. What happens if he, once again, starts eyeballing other jobs while still under contract? Larry Brown isn't the answer for the Blazers. He just isn't.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I honestly don't know why Larry Brown gets so much credit.

Um, because he's the only coach in history to win an NCAA title and an NBA title?
Because he's the only coach ever to beat Phil Jackson in a series with obviously inferior talent? (And took the Bulls to seven when he was coaching the Pacers.)
Because he took the Clippers to the playoffs, back to back?
Because he managed to build a team around Allen Iverson that was the only team to take a game in the playoffs from the 2002 Lakers?
Because he may be the best NBA coach alive?

If the Blazers were to fire Nate and hire Larry, he might improve the Blazers by a few games and a round or two farther into the playoffs,

Jesus, I don't know about you, but I'd be ecstatic with that.

but he won't be there to stay.

Name a coach that is, other than Jerry Sloan?

What happens if the Blazers do worse with him? He'll bail or just get fired.

Again, like 29 out of 30 coaches in the NBA.

What happens if he, once again, starts eyeballing other jobs while still under contract?

If he does it after we've won a championship, I'll take it. Then we hire the next best coach available.

 

[Denny Crane]

Why is Brown available?

He's FROM North Carolina, he's coaching in North Carolina, his owner is from North Carolina.

And he just coached the team to their first playoffs.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Why is Brown available?
He's FROM North Carolina, he's coaching in North Carolina, his owner is from North Carolina.
And he just coached the team to their first playoffs.

His family doesn't live in NC (of course, they don't live in Portland, either). Also (supposedly) he's pissing off Jordan with his constant "suggestions" about trades. He's high maintenance, that's for sure. But you could say the same about Porsches.

(Add "getting the Bobcats to the playoffs" to the list of his accomplishments.)

 

[Denny Crane]

FWIW

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/the-larry-brown-watch/?pagemode=print

MAY 2, 2010, 12:00 PM
The Larry Brown Watch

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN
The question concerning Bobcats Coach Larry Brown has always been when he will move on, not if he will. In a coaching career that started with Davidson College in 1972 and has involved 13 college and pro teams, Brown has never been one to wear out his welcome.

Brown is now considering whether he will stay with Charlotte after leading the Bobcats to their first playoff appearance, albeit an unsuccessful one against the Orlando Magic, in his second season with the team.

His history suggests he will not. Of the teams he has coached, Brown has stayed for a third season on four occasions. His longest time with a team was six seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, and his shortest was with Davidson, which included the summer off-season but no games.

The one twist is that Brown has said he has no plans to coach for anyone other than Michael Jordan, the Bobcats’ owner, making it unlikely that he would be interested in the vacant 76ers coaching job or any other positions that may become vacant.

If Brown were to retire, it would be with one of the most impressive résumés of any player or coach, having earned an Olympic gold medal and an A.B.A. all-star appearance as a player, and an N.C.A.A. championship and N.B.A. championship as a coach.