The New York Knicks put Larry Brown out of his coaching misery on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty by firing the Hall of Fame coach with four years and a reported US$40 million left on his contract.
President and general manager Isiah Thomas will replace Brown as coach.
In Brown's lone season in New York, the Knicks stumbled to a 23-59 record -- second worst in the NBA and matching the most losses in club history -- while Brown publicly feuded with Stephon Marbury and other players.
But the postseason may have been even more difficult for Brown.
His coaching status had been in limbo since reports surfaced in May that owner James Dolan was looking to buy out Brown's contract. It was at about that time that Brown called himself a "dead man walking" because of the uncertainty.
Brown's agent, Joe Glass, had said he wouldn't accept a buyout, so the Knicks took their time with the decision. That created an awkward situation in which Brown was running the Knicks' workouts of draft prospects without knowing what role he had within the organization. The draft is on Wednesday.
"No one in our organization is happy with last season and we all accept responsibility for our performance," Thomas said in a statement released by the Knicks. "This has been a difficult time for the entire organization and our fans.
"Larry Brown is a great coach, but for various reasons, bringing him to the Knicks did not turn out the way we had hoped and we wish him the best in the future."
It's the second straight ugly ending for Brown, who was bought out by the Detroit Pistons last season despite leading them to the finals in both seasons there, winning the title in 2004.
The Knicks then gave the Brooklyn native what he called his "dream job" with hopes that he could return his hometown team to the playoffs. But despite a league-high payroll of more than US$120 million, the result was perhaps the most embarrassing season in franchise history.
Brown is 1,010-800 in 23 seasons as a NBA coach, making previous stops in Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana, Philadelphia and Detroit.
Thomas becomes the Knicks' fifth coach in the last three years. Don Chaney left during the 2003-2004 season, and was followed by Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams before Brown.
Michael Jordan went to work for the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday, overseeing a pre-draft workout as part-owner of the team.
Jordan, who's been given decision-making power on personnel decisions, helped conduct on-court drills during most of the workout. He retreated to a balcony overlooking the practice court by the time reporters were allowed in and declined to speak to the media.
Jordan has yet to publicly speak in his home state since acquiring the largest individual stake in the team behind majority owner Bob Johnson. Jordan hasn't worked in the NBA since he was fired as the Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations in 2003.
"He's one of the best players that ever played -- if not the best -- so it meant a lot to play for him and get his input on how I play," University of Connecticut's Rudy Gay said. "He showed us some points of interest."
Charlotte is considering selecting Gay with its No. 3 overall pick in next week's NBA draft. Charlotte had also hoped to bring in LaMarcus Aldridge, Tyrus Thomas and Brandon Roy on Thursday, but all three players canceled with minor injuries.
RSS