Monday, May 15, 2006

The future of Larry Brown and the NY Knicks

For everyone associated with the New York Knickerbockers in any form, shape, or, state of matter, I have one word for you:

Patience.

Be patient. You made the right decision last year when you handed out a five year, $60 million contract to Larry Brown. The right decision as to hire him as a coach and not to overpay him. But then again, it's not my money.

And now I hear the reports of buying him out and letting him go. I wonder what can I suggest to make you,the cellar dwellers of the NBA, feel little better and raise your hope for a respectable future. So here's my best advice if you listen.

Don't let Larry Brown go. Larry should stay and figure out a way to make the Knicks relevant again. Because right now, you're a mess created by your ingenuous president Isiah Thomas and if anyone can pull you out, it has to be Larry -- the man who preaches the right way to play ball.

We know what it takes to be a loser: James Dolan and the inherited dollars, Isiah Thomas and his off the court IQ.

We also know what it takes to be a winner. Just check out the resume of Larry Brown.

Larry is a proven winner, unlike Isiah, who's a proven loser (not counting his playing days).

I hope you understand after a tumultuous losing season that Larry is not an instant fix to your team's problems which run deeper than you thought, and if he is not, then no one else could come closer. But surely he's a long term answer, if there is any. And he's the best out there who puts an honest effort.

After all, this is the dream job that the Brooklyn native can't afford to screw up because everything that he's worked for in his life are at stake: legacy, reputation, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to create winners from losers.

For the record, Larry's first season with a team doesn't automatically make them a winner. The Philadelphia 76ers posted a 31-51 record in 1997-98, and if you recall, the 76ers went on to make the 2001 NBA Finals. Of course they had a certain Allen Iverson. The relevant point is after a disastrous first year, the 76ers always posted a winning record during the rest of Larry years.

Look. Larry Brown never promised a playoff berth to you right away. When he was hired last year, he said," I look forward to coaching this team ... If you play the right way, being in this environment, you help our sport, and I don’t take that lightly. I look forward to the challenge. I know it’s not going to be easy, but nothing worthwhile is supposed to be easy.”

Don't let his public feuding with his egotastic shooting guard Stephon Marbury bother you. He has done it before. Remember his days with Allen Iverson? That's what Larry does and at 65, Larry's not going to change. Bear with him and let him finish the job he's hired to do.

If you are not convinced, here's another fact. Before this year, Larry was the guy who took the Clippers to the playoffs.

Yes, he's a quitter but not before he proves himself to be a winner. He quits only when there's nothing else to prove and he never quits in a losing situation.

This is what Isiah said when Larry was hired by the Knicks.

“He has made every team he has ever coached a winner, with a legendary approach to teaching and motivating his players. His value to us as a franchise at this time is immeasurable.”

That's worth repeating. Let Larry Brown stay if you want to be talked about again in the post-season.

And if you are desperately looking for a scapegoat, Isiah is waiting.

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from QbiT