Sport-Blog.com

By Ed Jennett


In what was either an example of a sick sense of humor or an ironic act of buffoonery, New York Knicks owner James Dolan fired Head Coach Larry Brown 40 days after the dismissal was first reported throughout the media. Although Dolan thinks otherwise, the Knicks still owe Brown $40 million dollars for the four years that were remaining on his contract. Brown has been replaced as Head Coach by Knicks President/General Manager Isiah Thomas.

The official firing came after Brown finally received what he had requested shortly after the season ended, a meeting with Dolan. Brown wanted to speak with Dolan after his last meeting with Thomas turned sour. Brown and Thomas met shortly after a joint press conference at the end of the season in which they said that Brown would return to coach the team and that the two would work together to rebuild the Knicks. Brown frustrated Thomas at the meeting by insisting on massive roster changes. Thomas responded that Brown should focus on coaching. Afterwards Brown requested a meeting with Dolan. The Knicks maintain that he wanted to meet with Dolan alone while the Brown camp maintains he wanted to meet with Dolan and Thomas. That meeting did not take place until the day Dolan fired Brown.

Dolan had never even responded to the request of Brown until that point. That complete lack of communication quickly spread throughout the organization. Despite the two having been friends before Brown was hired, Thomas never asked Brown about his health after Brown underwent another bladder procedure shortly after the season ended. No one from the organization ever asked Brown about it. No one from the organization ever told Brown or his agent that the reports he was going to be fired were false. Obviously that was not an oversight on the part of the Knicks.

Despite the fact that it was obvious that Brown was going to be fired, the Knicks apparently decided to get as much out of him as possible before showing him the door. Brown, knowing that he was going to be fired, had to run the Knicks pre-draft workouts. The Knicks logic behind this was obvious. Thomas has an excellent draft record so he would be best utilized observing the prospects instead of dividing his time by having to also conduct the workouts. Brown and Thomas only briefly spoke about the prospects at the workouts. Their fractured relationship was about to get even worse.

The Knicks ordered Brown to attend the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando. Brown attended and watched from the sidelines. Thomas attended and watched from the stands. They never spoke to each other during the entire camp. Before leaving for Orlando, Thomas had placed three phone calls to Brown. The first was returned by his secretary. The second was returned by his agent. The third was never returned. Thomas obviously felt that Brown should come speak to him since he had attempted to contact Brown three times. Brown obviously felt that speaking with Thomas was pointless since he knew he was going to be fired.

Brown refusing to return phone calls is just one of the reasons that the Knicks do not want to pay the remaining $40 million on his contract. Among other things the team is also citing his unauthorized roadside interviews without a Knicks public relations official present. The Knicks are upset that Brown left the predraft camp in Orlando one day early without prior authorization, despite the fact that head coaches usually do this. Brown constantly criticizing his own players despite being told to stop by management is also cited.

The Knicks contend that Brown demanded that six players be waived once this past season had ended. Although that list included free agent bust center Jerome James, the list also included all-star point guards Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, the Knicks two best players. When Dolan met with beat reporters about the dismissal of Brown, he pointed out the combined contracts of the players that Brown wanted to waive totaled $180 million. Dolan took this as a clear sign that Brown made the demand in order to force his own dismissal. According to Dolan, Brown was an advocate of the Knicks trades for Francis and PG/SG/SF Jalen Rose. The contracts of the two players totaled $80 million. Dolan explained that three weeks later Brown told Thomas that the two players were not good.

The most shocking allegation of the Knicks is that Brown called other teams attempting to make trades and undermine Thomas. It was widely reported throughout the media that Brown had been in contact with executives throughout the league regarding trades. At the time it appeared he was using his connections throughout the league to try to help his team. The Knicks contend otherwise however. According to the team, they were informed by at least two other clubs that the trade offers Thomas had made to them were not as good as the offers made by Brown.

If the Knicks can actually prove their last accusation, then they might have a legitimate complaint against Brown. Whether their complaints are legitimate or not may be irrelevant however. As per the terms of the contract that Brown signed last offseason, this dispute will be arbitrated by NBA Commissioner David Stern. If Stern were to allow the Knicks to get out of paying Brown the remainder of his contract or even paying less than the total amount remaining, he would open the door for every single team in the league to try to avoid having to pay the salary of an employee that was being fired. It is highly unlikely that Stern would allow that to happen.

Dolan maintains that he did not make the decision to fire Brown until he finally met with him. It is his belief that Brown decided sometime during the period that the rumor of his dismissal was floating around that he would not return to coach the team next season.

Despite the fact that most Knicks fans would like to see Dolan go, the man replacing Brown is the one most likely to leave next. During the meeting with the beat writers, and with Thomas sitting to his right, Dolan said that if the Knicks do not make significant progress this season that Thomas would be removed from all three of his positions. However Dolan did not give a timetable for when he would sell the team if it continued to flounder under his ownership.