Billups was on hotseat in ESPN, he said of Brown: 1. Wish he could be more hands-off, just let them play. 2. Definately more fun playing for Flip than Brown. 3. Pistons is a better team under Flip than JB. I thought that is interesting given the similar "control freak" style of JB and JVG.
I just saw it and didn't think he quite said all that in a controvertial way. It was pretty safe PR answers, nothing Stephon-like if that's what you're thinking. He did say he should be MVP which was kind of brash I thought. No way is he more valuable to his team than LeBron, Kobe or Nash.
You totally got #3 wrong. He said that the Pistons won a championship under LB, therefore he can't say this year's team is better at this point.
You cannot compare the "control freak" Larry Brown to anybody. He's out there on his own planet. He's an extremist even compared to guys like JVG, Pop, Carlisle, Riley or any coach you can think of. For that matter, JVG isn't as controlling as Pop or Riley. His "style" is very different than LB's plus he doesn't wear his ego as prominently on his sleeve as LB (nobody does). Personally, I believe you need an authoritarian coach to make it to the top. Guys like Mike Brown, Dwayne Casey, Mike Montgomery who allow players to dominate the lockerroom will always have a hard time in the NBA. A coach has to know his system and get his players to buy into it.
You make very conflicting points in my view. The authoritarian doesn't worry about getting his players to buy in, merely says do it my way or the high way and doesn't worry about what his players think. The most successfull coach in the modern NBA (Phil J) worked very hard to balance players' perspectives while keeping the team on the same page. He got great productivity of guys who were pains in the ass with other coaches (e.g., DRod, Pippen, Kobe). PJ had more of a subtle and respectfull leadership approach than an authoritarian approach, and it was perfect for his teams.
No conflict. The authoritarian coach DOES care about getting buy in if he wants to be successful. The dense coach doesn't care or know about others' opinions. In today's world, dense people don't make good leaders (including NBA coaches) unless they are totally brilliant and way smarter than the rest of us mere mortals. The authoritarian aspect is the way a coach conducts business. Dissent isn't tolerated and game plans must be followed to a "T". PJ was like this when he first went to the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe did as they were told. Their team came apart when Kobe and Shaq's ego's became bigger than PJ. I'll never forget one game where the press blasted Kobe for shooting too much and his response was to shoot ~3 shots the next game. It was as if he was proving a point to everyone. This was the beginning of him becoming "uncoachable" in PJ's terms, which is why he left the Lakers. If Kobe and Shaq were like MJ and cared only about winning, they would have continued to follow PJ's leadership instead setting their own agendas. They probably would have won 3 more championships like MJ too. But their run of championships fell flat when those two players became bigger than the coach. MJ was "bigger" than PJ but he respected him and did what PJ asked him to do. He also demanded that every other player on the team do the same thing, including Rodman. Without MJ, PJ wouldn't have been able to handle Rodman any more than anyone else. The Rodman performance is where PJ gets way too much credit IMO. Pippen too.
Larry Brown is more overrated than PJ. The guy won a championship after he inherited a team that one it's division two seasons in a row that added Rasheed Wallace for nothing in the middle of the season. Its like the phoenix suns or the mavericks getting Artest without giving up anyone.
I watched the hot seat with Chauncy and you pretty much misquoted everything he said. He never once bashed Larry Brown. Not even close, he did say he liked the hands off approach better and that it was more fun, but he never said LB's approach was a bad thing. He also said they had a good regular season, but that didn't really matter, the playoffs are what matter.
I guess we are playing with semantics. I see authoritarian coach to a "players coach" as largely two ends of a continuim. The best pro coaches in particular find a middle ground, they have the knack on when to support their players and let them develop on their own, and when they need to take charge and set the tone. Many excellent college coaches can never make it in the NBA because they are too authoritarian. Bob Knight and Bear Bryant were great when they could recruit everyone who they wanted and once they had you were signed they owened your soul. Pro athletes won't take the same level of crap, no should they.
NBA players won't put up with nutcases like Bob Knight or ogres like Bob Huggins & Jim Calhoun. But they won't perform their best unless the coach has a strong enough personality and a firm enough hand to control the show. "Players coaches" like Mike Brown and Mo Cheeks who try too hard to get along with players may not be cut out to be great head coaches in the NBA. I agree with you there is a balance. But in the NBA I think the balance is more to the authoritarian side than most people think. The successful coaches not only are forceful, but they know their stuff and they care about their players. This describes RudyT perfectly in the early/mid 90s. He would yell and blast the players unmercifully during timeouts and during practice (supposedly). But he always had their back when talking to the press, no matter how much trouble they were in the lockerroom. This is why he's called a players coach.
Billups should be thanking Mr. Larry Brown for turning him into the player he is today. That's right, Billups was a scrub who bounced to 4 teams in 5 years before turning into one of the best PG's and team leaders in the league under LB. LB is not overrated. Dude has turned around every team he has coached from perennial losers into playoff teams. He has only been on the Knicks one season and that roster is full of malcontent ball hogs who play similar positions. Phillip, Rudy, JVG, Dean Smith, Red Aurbach, Pat Riley-none of them would be able to coach that team to respectability. Too many egos, too many losers. Give LB time and more personnel power and he will turn that team around.
If you look at the numbers though, Billups' improvement really started in Minnesota and then his first year in Detroit, where Larry didn't play a role. What he had in Detroit was opportunity -- increased playing time. However, I do agree that Larry Brown played a role in helping Billups elevate his game to the level where it is now.
