You Broke It. You Fix It.
Chris McCosky of the Detroit News says, to the extent that anything is wrong with the defending champs, it is Larry Brown's fault. Writes McCosky about the Knicks "dream job" weirdness over the weekend:
"Will he resign? Will he be back next season? Does he really want to coach the Knicks? Will he retire? The real question that needs to be asked is, why he so darn unhappy? Brown, for the second straight day, refused to speak to the media. Nobody knows if he is contemplating resignation (President Joe Dumars said Sunday that he expects Brown to finish the season). Nobody knows if he is mad at the NBA for the huge $35,000 fine he received Saturday. Nobody knows if he just wants to avoid answering questions about his future.
All we know is, he has created a big mess and is not doing much to clean it up. His antics have angered people in the front office (Dumars and owner Bill Davidson included). His antics also have offended his players and put his coaches and others close to him in an uncomfortable spot. Dumars and Davidson are the ones having to answer the inevitable "What's wrong with Larry?" questions. It's all so unnecessary. An NBA season is fraught with enough drama without someone's going out of his way to create more.
Why publicly flirt with the notion of leaving this team, whether it would be to retire or to take his "dream job" in New York? Even if, deep down, Brown feels that he might leave after the season, why talk about it now? He made a five-year commitment to this organization. The organization and his players have made a significant commitment to him and his manic, sometimes harsh coaching methods. And it has been a huge success. Why in the middle of a season, a title-defending season in which things are going relatively well, would you even publicly entertain thoughts of leaving?"
Ah, I will field that last question...because he is a psycho? That's my take anyway.
The Pistons have every right to be pissed with their head coach, from ownership down to the ball boys. If I were Joe Dumars, I would have fired him when he spouted that nonsense on Friday to the NY Post.