http://msnbc.com/news/918301.asp?cp1=1 Rockets would be good fit for this restless coach Larry Brown is moving on. Those words resonate in the American psyche with the same frequency as “You want fries with that?” It’s like watching a zealot sitting in an old oak tree, trying to save it from the developers’ steam shovel. You know he has to come down eventually. IN THIS CASE, it took Brown six years to climb down and abandon the cause. Larry probably looks back at his previous coaching stints the way Shirley MacLaine looks back at past lives. Some are unremarkable and difficult to recall. Others, though, are vivid and eventful, if for no other reason than their duration. He was with the Philadelphia 76ers for six seasons, all with Allen Iverson. Calculating the number of missed practices, late arrivals, shouting matches, posse interruptions and police reports is impractical and nearly impossible. Suffice to say that the cumulation of all that tumult eroded Brown’s enthusiasm for coaching that team. That, and the Herculean task of reviving Derrick Coleman’s interest in basketball. “I don’t think it was my personality that initiated this,” Brown explained. “I didn’t want to hold the team back. By me staying longer than this, that might have become the case.” Brown emphasized that he remains stoked about coaching, despite the fact that six years with Iverson would have been enough to convince John Wooden to take a civil service exam. “I’m pumped up about coaching,” he claimed. “I didn’t want to go into another situation unless it’s right for me, my family and that franchise. My passion for coaching is still there. “I’m not going to be idle.” It’s important to assess where Brown has been in order to predict where he’ll be next. At the press conference on Monday, Sixers chairman Ed Snider declared that the team would waive the clause in Brown’s contract that restricts his NBA employment elsewhere. “No compensation,” Snider said. Brown had two more years on his Philly deal, but now, according to Snider, he’s free to enlist elsewhere. Larry is not like Phil Jackson. Larry is smart, but Phil is shrewd. After his Bulls tenure, Jackson would not have coached a team with fewer than two future Hall of Famers. Call him an opportunist, but he’s an opportunist with nine rings as a head coach. If Larry has a flaw — besides the wanderlust thing, of course — it’s his soft heart. He’s like the man who walks into a house that has just been burned to the ground, surveys the smoldering rubble, and says, “Oh, I don’t know. It’s not so bad. A coat of paint, a couple of throw pillows ...” Whereas another coach will turn and run when faced with a lost cause, Larry embraces the challenge. And it’s difficult to argue with his record. He’s seventh on the all-time victories list, and he’s only had three losing seasons in 20 NBA campaigns. Of course, he has never won an NBA title. The perfect place for Brown would be Houston. Enough with the headaches. He deserves to have a team that is talented, enthusiastic and on the rise. Forget Cleveland. I know LeBron is coming, but in a lot of ways, LeBron is Allen Iverson. He’ll have his own set of rules. He’ll have to have the entire team tailored to his talents. When it’s time to practice, he’ll be off shooting commercials. And right around January or so, you’ll start to see the familiar “Either he goes, or I go” stories. Been there, done that. There is also some speculation that Brown is open to overtures from his old boss, Donald T. Sterling. That frightens me. This situation reminds me of that hiker in the news a couple of weeks ago who got trapped under a boulder and had to amputate his own arm in order to free himself. You pray that he avoids putting himself in that kind of peril again, because next time it could be worse. Brown should understand that since he left the Clippers in 1993, Sterling has maintained his position as the NBA’s laughingstock despite challenges to his throne by Abe Pollin, Jerry Reinsdorf and whichever suit currently runs the Knicks. Sometimes, there is just no substitute for experience. The Clips have a cornucopia of young basketball talent, but sooner or later, the players will bail out faster than passengers on a flight from Hong Kong to Toronto. Then one day Brown will find himself standing next to Sterling at a cocktail party as The Donald recounts to guests a sumptuous dinner he and his wife enjoyed the night before at a pricey bistro that was prepared by a celebrity chef and Brown will ask himself, “What have I done?” Toronto is out. Vince Carter begs further Iverson comparisons. For instance, if Allen Iverson took six weeks off in the middle of the season because he felt a tingle in his quadriceps and rehabilitated the injury by dancing onstage at a hip-hop concert, he’d be Vince Carter. The ideal situation would be for Brown to take a high-profile college job. But he won’t do that. Roy Williams is now ensconced at North Carolina. Bill Self at Kansas. Ben Howland is at UCLA. There aren’t any positions currently available that present that kind of career fulfillment, nor pay him close to what he would require. And it’s unlikely he’ll wait until next year. He’s coaching the U.S. Olympic qualifying team this summer. When you spend weeks struggling to convince 12 monumental egos to work together, naturally you just become nostalgic for more. “I’m gonna sit down and think about things,” Brown said Monday. Don’t expect this to take too long. If there’s one constant about Larry Brown, it’s restlessness.
Exactly. Everyone else on this team sucks and most likely cost Yao the ROY award and possibly the mvp.
Your sarcasm is stupid. Francis is not as good as Iverson. Cat and Eric Snow are a wash and everyone else- who cares. So why would a coach jump ship from the Eastern Conference with the same, if not better team, to come to the Western Conference. Yao's upside is the only difference between this job and Philadelphia.
See, using words like that makes you sound like a d******d. But, whatever. Have no idea what Francis and Iverson have to do with anything. I just think it's hilarious that Yao is the only guy immune from criticism. Maybe Brown is leaving because Philly was getting stale for him? They peaked under him? Maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I hope Larry comes and I think he can change things here. Why you would want to make things personal on a BBS is beyond me, but whatever tough guy.
You make a sarcastic response to a legitimate point and Im going to call you out on that. If you think this job is attractive for any reason other than Yao's potential , you have no clue what you're talking about. Calling me a "wannabe" tough" guy because Im pointing to the obvious is ridiculous. You think people would be interested in this job because of Steve Francis and Cat? Yeah, ok.
Believe it or not, alot of people around the league think very higly of Steve and Cat. People in Houston on this bbs obviously does not. Hell, I thought Mr. Clutch was being sarcastic himself, maybe I'm wrong. Every interview I've seen has said "Houston is an attractive job because they already have a foundation layed with Steve Francis and Yao Ming."
LOL. I just think that whatever team Yao is on would be generating this type of buzz. Steve's good, but would Larry be so excited to coach another 6'0" guy as the center of his offense? Nah, it's cuz of the 7'5" guy. Steve does help though.
Some people in Houston on this bbs think very highly of Steve & Cat. True, Yao makes the Rockets coaching position a coveted one, but if it were simply Yao alone, I don't think we'd be any more appealing than Cleveland with just LeBron James, for example. We have 2 all stars on the team. We're young and on the rise. It's a developmental coach's dream.
Actually, its not <b>just </b> Yao Ming. Its Yao and Steve, and to a point Cat. Otherwise, what would the difference between our job and the Cleveland job?? Steve and Cat are the difference makers in this situation.
Correct. If this were Yao and scrubs, it wouldn't be nearly as inviting. Besides, WHO CARES? Does every discussion have to turn to Yao vs. Steve? Last time I checked, they were on the same freaking team. By the way, this: <b>There is also some speculation that Brown is open to overtures from his old boss, Donald T. Sterling. That frightens me. This situation reminds me of that hiker in the news a couple of weeks ago who got trapped under a boulder and had to amputate his own arm in order to free himself. You pray that he avoids putting himself in that kind of peril again, because next time it could be worse. </b> would be hilarious if it weren't true.
Right now the 2 most "attractive" jobs available appear to be Cleveland and Houston. Why? They are the 2 teams with the potential franchise players. If you want to coach a "good" team, the Hornets job is the most attractive. Why is the Cleveland job more attractive than New Orleans? Coveted coaches want a nice fit. LeBron James himself makes that job a nice fit. Yao makes the job a nice fit. Otherwise, we'd just be New Orleans.
For those hating on Francis and Mobley: Brown feels these two are legit all-stars and should be in the olympics. So they are as much of an attraction as the possibility of Yao. Coaches want to coach here because they'll only have two positions to solidify. We're the best bet of the available jobs for any coach who wants to get his Ring. If you think we're going to be trading them as soon as another coach gets here think again.
that's nonsense. steve francis has consistently been ranked among the top five guards in the league from his second season on. cat mobley may drive us crazy sometimes, but i really believe he could easily fill a michael finley type role on the team with the proper direction. then players like griffin or nachbar aren't even being mentioned here, and just because you've given up on them doesn't mean everyone around the league has. we have two all stars in yao and steve. we have an excellent third option in cat who could also be a 6th man of the year candidate if his role on the team were to change and in griffin and nachbar we have two young players that may one day rise to be stars. our team has as much young talent as any team in the league. the pacers, the clippers, the bulls and denver included. (and we have better records than all but the pacers who are in the weak eastern conference) but wait! does it stop there? no it doesn't. we also have a state of the art training facility. many NBA players live here in the off season due to tax reasons. It's been a proven desirable location to free agents. We have an owner who wants to win. We have a brand new arena opening next season and we ended the season just one or two games shy of making the playoffs. I personally believe that were Rudy to stay, this team would improve next season anyway. With a new coach I think things will be shaken up for the better and the team should easily make the playoffs for the first time after four years of falling short. the new coach gets the glory for that. oh, and we do have two championship banners hanging from the rafters already. cleveland- not exactly a city with much of a winning history and can you honestly even fathom the cavs being good? ever? i seriously doubt it. new orleans- jamal mashburn, a fragile baron davis and lots of great food. to compare this job to cleveland or new orleans is an absolute joke to me.
Riet, u r right that yao makes us the *main* attraction. U could say that. However, Steve makes us <b>better</b> than Cleveland. Thats the whole point everyone makes about Houston. If either Steve or yao is not there, Houston is probably behind Cleveland, maybe even Denver. But no worries, we are quite set for the future
I think we'll always be a more attractive option than NO. No income tax, lots of players play here, new stadium, and for now, a young nucleus. I think players like playing and living in Houston.
The real issue is not what makes us better than Cleveland but what makes us better than Philly. Larry Brown pretty much realized that no matter how good of a coach he is, Philly will never get to the next level with that core group of players. Unless Yao becomes a superstud, we will never get to the next level either. A team with Steve Francis and Cat at best will be where Philly is right now. If Larry Brown left Philly in hopes of landing this job, it's because of Yao - plain and simple. That's the x-factor that he didnt have with the 76ers He's too smart to go to the same type of team. He's also too old to start a new project like Cleveland. As far as Cleveland. Cleveland has LeBron James which by itself makes it a great job - much better than New Orleans. Someone who's been out of coaching for awhile will have the patience to mold that Cavalier team. Look at Cleveland's roster and you'll realize that the other pieces are there and in a few years could be a very good team. It just takes 1 potential franchise player to make a struggling team into a potentially great team. Coaches know this. When the Wizards had the #1 pick, Doug Collins couldn't wait to get out of TV and get back into coaching. Too bad for him MJ took over and Kwame Brown is a bust.
I am thinking Brown wants this job for many reasons. First, you have a good team. Yes they missed the playoffs, but a great coach is going to say that if he were coaching, then they wouldnt have. They have some obvious problems that need fixing, but nothing too drastic. IMO, I think Cat needs to be traded and SF needs to become a shooting guard.....or learn how to play the point if he is going to stay. If we can improve defensively, we will make the playoffs next year, and that is where Brown will improve this team dramatically
