Larry Brown would keep this team energized, and he would be the best choice to move forward. Although the past couple of years have not been completely successful, we don't want to start from square 1 - we want to modify what these kids have learned and take them to the next level. Maybe Larry coaches for 5 years, and then Rudy takes over...
One ramification is that Yao would be forced to be more physical and aggressive. His rebounding would have to go up. Brown does not tolerate big men that play soft. He rode Keith Van Horn all year about his lack of rebounding and toughness inside.
A [truncated] Biography of Mr. Brown - "While Larry Brown has carved his own special niche in 76ers history in only five short seasons, it was his 30-year "body of work" as a college and professional head coach that earned him enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2002. Brown's resume includes three ABA Coach of the Year awards, the 2001 NBA Coach of the Year honor, a trip to the 2001 NBA Finals and a 1988 NCAA championship. "Brown, who has posted a winning record in 26 of his 30 seasons as a professional head coach or collegiate head coach, has compiled a 1,237-819 (.602) career record. In his 19 seasons in the NBA, he has an 831-651 (.561) record. He enters the 2002-03 season needing just two victories to move past Cotton Fitzsimmons (832) into eighth place and 34 victories to pass Jack Ramsay (864) in seventh. "On April 6, 2001, he passed Gene Shue (784) for ninth place on the all-time NBA coaching victory chart. On the same night, the Sixers clinched the Atlantic Division crown for the first time since 1989-90. The next game on April 9, he led Philadelphia to the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Individually, the 2000-01 campaign was certainly one of Brown's best: he was named the NBA's Coach of the Year and made a trip to the NBA Finals, the first such accomplishments in his then 18 years as an NBA coach. "Additional honors for Brown in 2001 included being named the NBA's IBM Coach of the Month for November, his third such honor (February 1994 with Indiana and March 1992 with the LA Clippers). He was the Eastern Conference head coach in the 2001 All-Star Game and guided the East All-Stars to a come-from-behind win, while Allen Iverson was named the game's MVP award. Brown was also selected as a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "Hustle and defense are trademarks of a Larry Brown-coached team. Traditionally, his teams are unselfish and come to compete every night. In the NBA, he has finished first in his division six times (1976-77 and 1977-78 with Denver; 1989-90 and 1990-91 with San Antonio; 1994-95 with Indiana; and 2000-01 with Philadelphia). "Prior to joining the Sixers, the 61-year-old Brown spent four seasons as head coach of the Indiana Pacers, (1993 to 1997) compiling a record of 190-138 (.579). The Pacers' all-time winningest NBA coach, he took the team to the playoffs three times, including the Eastern Conference Finals twice. Before joining Indiana, Brown was the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs. He took the Spurs to the postseason twice (1990 and 1991) and the Clippers twice (1992 and 1993). "Brown spent four seasons in the ABA, earning Coach of the Year honors three times. After two seasons each with Carolina and Denver, Brown returned to the college ranks in 1979 as head coach at UCLA. The Bruins went to the national championship game in Brown's first year as coach. After a two-year stint as coach of the New Jersey Nets (1981-83), Brown would spend the next five years as head coach at the University of Kansas, where he won the national championship in 1988. "As a coach, Brown draws on his playing days where he was a member of the 1964 gold medal U.S. Olympic basketball team. He is the only U.S. male to both play and coach in the Olympics. The three-time ABA All-Star holds the ABA record with 23 assists in a game and was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA All-Star Game in 1968. " Finally, a telling quote: "Larry Brown could take 5 overweight guys off the street and make them competitive." -- Don Nelson Larry, buddy...come home!
Bingo. Cavs were courting Van Gundy, so you could make a similar argument that Les wanted to put the Houston job on the market before the Cleveland deal was done. But unless you think Brown is going to Cleveland, I don't see why he jumped so fast except to make himself available to Houston.
I have to second, third, hundredth this thought. All signs seem to point towards Brown going to Houston. It makes no sense that Brown would schedule a news conference on Memorial Day unless he really wanted to get out on the job market ASAP. Also, who else thinks that Snider, owner for 76ers, came out as a really classy owner at the news conference? That being said. Do you think that this is one of the craziest offseasons in terms of coaching changes and opportunities? I mean how many times do you get 3 teams that are immediate playoff contenders (Philly, New Orleans, Houston), one team that has the most heralded #1 pick in a loooong time (Cleveland), and your usual scrub team openings (LA Clippers, Atlanta, Denver, Toronto, - which at least has Vin Carter for better or for worse). All the top-tier out of a job coach must be salivating at this bounty. It will be an interesting off-season, and this is not including the possible big free agent moves...wow!
One thing that got my attention during Brown's press conference in Philly was when he said that before he decided on a new team to coach, he'd have to discuss the situation with his wife and his assistant coaches. Looks like Mr. Mean and company may be looking for work soon.
You know, there is a possibility that there will be 2 guys who used to be on coke - Lucas and Yao - workin' in the Coke Arena. Looks like some Feng Shui is workin. Welllllll...off to DC and Baltimore (going to see the Orioles tonite). Go Coach _____!!!
Hey guys first time posting................I think Larry Brown would be a great pickup for Houston. He will bring the experience and a new attitude to the Rockets....I think it was time for a change I feel sorry for Rudy T, but I think change is good sometimes......hopefully this will be a great offseason for the Rockets................
i have a feeling that he wanta to come here. i don't think that it's a coincidence that brown resigned almost immediatley after Rudy did. I think it was because he wants to come here. The Rockets are an up and coming team, and I think that any coach would love to coach Yao. Steve and Yao are both coachable players.
On Friday.......Rudy steps down. Jeff Van Gundy.....who supposedly agreed with the Cavs to coach........denied everything on Friday. Mike Dunleavy is dreaming for the Rockets job.....but will end up maybe with the Hawks. JVG will end up in anywhere after Larry...maybe Cleveland or somethin. Then Larry Brown resigns on Monday.....he was supposed to meet with them midweek....which is not Monday.....but Monday was the day that Les interviewed JVG and Dunleavy. And Larry Brown quits...he says he didn't know his decision until this last weekend.....after Rudy resigned and the HOUSTON JOB WAS OPEN! He is coming!
Pops and Larry Brown - from the San Antonio Express-News http://www.mysanantonio.com/global-includes/printStory.cfm?xla='saen'&xlb=211&xlc=1002597 Buck Harvey: Popovich in the middle: If Brown returns to Texas San Antonio Express-News Web Posted : 05/27/2003 12:00 AM If I know Gregg Popovich, he's hoping Larry Brown goes to Cleveland. He's hoping Brown is infatuated with LeBron James, and that this is Brown's way of becoming a college coach again, albeit with the NBA salary. Because if Brown goes to Houston? Then Popovich will face a former boss in Texas, just as he faces another former boss in Texas now. But with more pain. There's a good chance Brown becomes a Texan again. One, the Sixers apparently won't ask for compensation. Two, Rockets owner Les Alexander wants Brown above everyone else. If it happens, then the Texas triangle will become the Texas chainsaw. Complete with the 7-footers will be a coach-of-the-year winner in each venue. Popovich will be the one in the literal middle. Brown gave Popovich his break, bringing him to San Antonio in 1988. Nelson later gave him a boost, tutoring him in Golden State. But the mentors haven't been close. Brown and Nelson have always been as different as their height, and they've represented two distinct camps. One was passionate about the way the game should be played, the other about the way the game could be tricked up. No wonder Brown and Nelson sometimes disagreed. When both wanted to be the Olympic coach a dozen years ago, for example, each said a few things about the other. Both are considered among the best. But neither has yet to win an NBA title, unlike their pupil. And as Popovich gets closer to another, this time denying Nelson, Brown understood his own championship chances were dimming. So he did Monday what he's done many times before. With the window closing in Philadelphia, he walked out the door. Or, as the scoreboard says: 6 franchises down, 23 to go. Brown's latest change probably is like the others. He's always looking for the upgrade, and there are two coaching vacancies that qualify. Cleveland and LeBron. And Houston and Yao. Brown would love the challenge of the Cleveland kids. He would bring in a few tough veterans, and he would teach until he dropped. As for LeBron: Brown would see him as he once saw David Robinson. The chance to coach an athlete such as LeBron doesn't come around often. But even if LeBron is the next Michael Jordan, Brown should consider the timetable. Jordan left North Carolina after his junior year, not after the high-school prom, and he still went through several coaches until he won championships. Jordan also needed seven years to get his first title. If Brown somehow stayed around that long — and he never has — he would be 70 when the trophy arrived. Houston offers something else. This is still a lottery team, but one on the cusp of breaking through. Yao and Steve Francis would interest any coach, but Brown also has a fondness for Cuttino Mobley. As for Brown's tendency to demand and irritate: Yao and his translator wouldn't understand the depth of it, and Francis and Mobley would need to hear it. Brown isn't perfect, and his record isn't either. There's a reason he jumps around so much. The Spurs were never more joyless in the Robinson era than at the end of his term. But he would win in Houston as he did in Philly, as he did with everyone including the Clippers. And eventually he'd draw the Spurs in a series, just as Nelson has twice this decade. Popovich and Nelson haven't minded. They get along fine, including dinner invitations during this series. Above all else, Popovich is grateful Nelson hired him years ago. Popovich's relationship with Brown is something deeper, about family and history, and it has carried over into their games. It's the one time, Popovich has said, he doesn't like to coach. Earlier this season, with a Spur hurt during play, Brown ordered his Sixers to burn their own time-out to stop the game. Popovich paid him back as if it were a friendly loan. This series? Both the Spurs and Mavericks have sped along with the injured scattered on the floor. So as Popovich has the edge on Nelson tonight, with the series lead, with Dirk Nowitzki still recovering, there isn't much sympathy involved. Popovich will be thinking only of closing out the series. But with Brown? Knowing Popovich, he's rooting for Cleveland.
Larry Brown! Tradition, knowledge, commitment: I think we'd be hard pressed to find a better coach for our young team. Please, please, please let this happen
Precisely! Even the other night, when Carter on NBA 2Night was talking up Yao and referring to the Rockets' video basketball, the video highlights of Yao showed Yao's bad plays and struggles (most w/o Steve and Cat involved in the play). Carter's explaining how great Yao is; the lowlights show a dud. ABC/ESPN/Disney conspiracy, to be sure: show the foreigner sucking, when he's usually great, give or take a Steve Francis.
Welcome to the board***. I like Larry Brown too. But Ill be happy with whoever gets the job if he just matches the accomplishments of RudyT.
I know that I'll get in trouble here for trying to throw a little reality onto the Larry Brown lickfest currently going on but here goes... My head and my gut tells me that Brown is simply not the right coach for the Rockets. Granted, he HAS the resume. He HAS the skins on the wall. He's a veritable basketball genius. This man knows basketball period. He'd be perfect for this team except for the enormous baggage he's dragging behind him. Brown brings the reputation as a coaching nomad. He's just bailed on Philly after 6 years where he failed to win a championship in the NBA "Least". My gut tells me that he's jumping ship because he's 62 and knows that he's running out of chances to win an NBA title. He's also wound so tight it's scary -witness that entire Larry Brown - Allen Iverson soap opera. He's developed a disturbing pattern of not being able to coach star players and thus would be a terrible fit here with the egos and wanna be's on this team. His hypercritical personality will not work well here after the easy-going Rudy T. He's also just terrible developing younger players. If he becomes the next Rocket coach, I can guarantee that within 3 years the Rockets will be looking for another head coach as LB will have bailed once more. So what you're looking at is whether or not LB can take this team to the NBA championship within that time frame. That would be an impressive feat of coaching given that this is a team that has missed the playoffs for 4 straight years and that this team plays in the toughest division in the league. Somehow, I just don't see that happening - at least not in the next 3 years. Larry Brown may be the sexy "big-name" choice but he is not the right choice. He carries far too much baggage for my taste and would only be a short term fix.
There's a lot of talk about how Brown is a "vagabond" and jolts from place to place. And there's some truth to this. What people forget, though, is that the average tenure of an NBA coach has gotta be around 2 years per team. Brown has averaged 4 or so years per team, it's just that he's been around forever. It's not that he bolts more than your usual coach, it's just that somehow he's lasted for like seventy years. Something tells me Les is going to make this happen. He's always been fond of the blockbusters: Drexler Barkley Scottie b****pin (boo) Francis Let's all pray this goes through!
