President Larry Brown

[NarlCavs]

Re: Cleveland's Brown

Larry Brown would provide a big name but being a name doesn't mean he's the right choice to be given power over all personnel matters.The Chad Ford column above does a great job of listing all the questions and problems Larry Brown brings with him.
He's not a long term fix for the Cavs or someone with the long term vision needed in the next Cavs GM. We need someone who will totally commit to the Cavs and to building this franchise the right way for long term success.

People need to seperate Larry Brown the coach from Larry Brown the GM or team president. They're 2 completely different jobs that require different mentalities and different skills.
There's no question that Brown is a very good coach. He's just doesn't possess the traits or commitment needed in the front office.

Larry Brown could be a decent voice in the Cavs organization but I wouldn't be at all comfortable giving him complete control or major power over personnel matters.

If Gilbert was really smart and willing to go hard after someone to hire as GM or team president than he'd go all out for someone like R.C. Buford, one of the best and brightest GM's in the league who's done a great job with the Spurs. He's not the biggest name and wouldn't get tons of publicity but all that should be secondary to making the right hire.

 

[aggressivestyle]

Re: Cleveland's Brown

publicity shouldn't be a factor at all for hiring guys to run a organization. Just because every1 knows who larry brown is doesn't make him the right choice. I agree with NarlCavs.

 

[RichOne]

Re: Cleveland's Brown

^i agree.. just because larry brown is a huge name, his presence in the front office is still not going to help us lure in free agents onto this team. players look at coaches and relationships they can build. money of course is number one. but winning, the players, the coach, these are the things that are going to get players here, not having larry brown in the presidents seat.

i hope gilbert does not continue to exert all of his energy to try to get brown in here. there are so many unanswered questions and holes to fill that i think that larry should be just left alone...

 

[Mac]

Re: Cleveland's Brown

Im going to be very outraged if he is hired as president..

He is a good coach, but nothing leads to him being a good fit here..

Lebron hates him, he has never been good in the front office, he doesnt show the consistantcy to ever be a good GM, and he will probably be here for a year and a half before he decides to leave and in the mean time, he would have turned the roster over twice in that time.

 

[King]

Re: Cleveland's Brown

I dont want him either. His past stints as a gm were supposedly big failures. Ford was right when he said that Brown put Philly in salary cap hell. He wasnt smart with his signings and overpayed for mediocre guys. I believe he was responsible for signing Snow to that ginormous contract that he has now.

 

[West Remy]

All Eyes On Brown(s)

Cavaliers reportedly tell Pistons coach they need an answer by Monday

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert wants to add a legendary face to the franchise.

Even though that "face" probably won't be available for employment for another month at the earliest, Gilbert needs to move forward.

League sources have indicated that Gilbert has informed Pistons coach Larry Brown (or his representatives) that he needs an answer by Monday on whether he'll accept the job as the Cavaliers president of basketball operations.

The flirtation process with Brown has gone on for weeks. It has been rumored in Cleveland since the firing of Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson on April 21, but it became national news when the New York Times caught wind of it Tuesday.

Normally, teams don't talk to candidates involved in the playoffs. However, the Cavaliers received permission from Tom Wilson, the president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, to speak with Brown. That formality was needed because Brown still has three years remaining on a five-year, $30 million contract.

Gilbert has come to realize that if he waits and Brown declines his offer, the Cavaliers will be left out in the cold by other candidates. Teams are in the midst of draft preparation and free agency. They don't want their front-office executives to do all the legwork on the draft, for instance, and then bolt two weeks before the big day. Brown, 64, won't be able to take over control of the Cavaliers for quite some time. He faces Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Miami at 8:30 tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Not only are the defending champion Pistons a favorite to earn a spot in the NBA Finals, but Brown has major health concerns stemming from his hip-replacement surgery in November. He's had complications with his bladder, which led to a second surgery on March 14.

He said he would check himself into the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., at the conclusion of the season.

The Cavaliers need to know if they are bringing Brown on board.

Sources indicate the people Gilbert has targeted to fill out the rest of his front office are both employed by the Indiana Pacers - front-office executive David Morway and associate head coach Mike Brown.

Sources say Morway, 44, the Pacers' vice president of basketball administration, would probably not become the Cavaliers' general manager if Larry Brown were hired. Normally, a president of a team would want his own guy as the GM, and there's no tie between Larry Brown and Morway.

Larry Brown remains close friends with Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh - they worked together in the ABA in Denver and later with the Pacers - but has no relationship with Morway.

If Larry Brown is hired, it's unclear what direction the Cavaliers would take with their GM. Other known candidates interviewed were Spurs director of basketball operations Danny Ferry, Nuggets assistant GM Jeff Weltman, Nets GM Ed Stefanski and former Magic GM John Gabriel.

Gilbert tried to interview Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe, but he didn't get permission from ownership. He also chatted with Grizzlies president Jerry West, who had no interest in the job.

Sources say Larry Brown is interested in Mike Brown, and reportedly gave his approval for a possible hire as Cleveland's coach.

He said recently that his goal is to coach the Pistons next year. However, if health reasons don't permit that, he'd still like to continue in basketball in some capacity, which possibly opens the door for the Cavaliers. Some think his exit strategy in Detroit is already in place.

His medical condition is serious, but not life-threatening. He will likely need additional surgery.

"I don't want to get into what I would do if I can't coach," Brown told Detroit writers. "My goal is to coach. As recently as last week, I told (Pistons president Joe Dumars) I had an appointment to get checked as soon as the season was over, and I would be able to let him know as soon as possible."

What has bothered Brown even maybe more than his health problems is the fact that all of this surfaced during the East finals.

"This is my last coaching job," Larry Brown said. "The only place I'm going to coach next season - or ever - is Detroit."

 

[Karma]

Re: All Eyes On Brown(s)

Good to see Gilbert moving on things one way or another. We need to get the pieces in place earlier rather then later. WE have some tough decisions ahead this next month or two, so the sooner the big players are in place the better.

 

[NarlCavs]

Re: All Eyes On Brown(s)

I'm hoping Larry Brown says no and turns down the Cavs. I also find it a big negative that L. Brown is searching out other opportunities while his team is playing in the eastern finals. An example of why he's the wrong choice for team president and wouldn't give the Cavs the commitment they need from whoever takes that spot.

If Morway than doesn't take the GM job, the Cavs could be in a mess. Theyll have to hire a different GM candidate and force a new coach on him that he played no role in selecting. The GM and coach have to work closely together. Gilbert has done a poor job in this whole process and seems to have gotten the hiring process backwards.

 

[Glen Infante]

Re: Larry Brown

Larry lines up job

BY MITCH LAWRENCE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

AUBURN HILLS - You can probably strike Larry Brown's name from the list of potential Knicks coaching candidates and start adding it to the roster of NBA team presidents.
According to several league sources yesterday, Brown has all but agreed to take over as the head of basketball operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers after the Detroit Pistons finish their playoff run. While Brown has not given his official word to the Pistons and still could have second thoughts about jumping to the Cavaliers, he reportedly has started assembling his front office personnel and coaching staff in anticipation of a move.

The Cavs and Brown refused to comment yesterday, but one person close to the 64-year-old Long Beach product said, "He won't be back in Detroit next season." He apparently won't be coaching the Knicks, either, although team president Isiah Thomas has identified him as a candidate. Herb Williams remains the front-runner to come back and coach the team.

With Brown being pursued by David Katzman, one of the Cavaliers' new owners, the Pistons have identified ex-Minnesota coach Flip Saunders as their top choice to succeed him. Saunders has had one conversation with Thomas about the Knicks' vacancy, but like many candidates, he has reservations about the team's roster and long-term salary-cap problems.

As the Daily News reported on April 4, the Pistons first made back-channel contacts with Saunders in late March. He has turned down Portland's coaching position and had also been involved with the Magic about their vacancy before Orlando hired Brian Hill. Sources say Saunders has held off on taking a job because of Brown's expected departure, and that Saunders would welcome the chance to take over a veteran team that is currently working on its second straight championship.

Detroit president Joe Dumars refused comment on Brown's future, citing the fact that the Pistons are trying to defeat the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. But sources say the Pistons already have told the Cavaliers they will not demand compensation for Brown, who has three years at $18 million left on his contract. Detroit will be off the hook for the rest of his deal if he were to leave.

"Unless Larry reneges, it looks like he's gone," one source said.

Sources told the Daily News that Brown has begun lining up coaches and executives for his Cleveland regime. If Brown takes the job, he has tabbed Pacers associate head coach Mike Brown to be LeBron James' new head coach.

Former Sixers head coach Randy Ayers, also a former assistant to Brown in Philly, could be joining the staff as an assistant. The Cavaliers' front office would include Washington's personnel director Milt Newton, who played college ball at Kansas for Brown and is considered a rising star among league executives.

Originally published on May 30, 2005

 

[Mac]

Re: Larry Brown

Man o man I so dont want this to happen...it's frustrating. I just hope all of this is not true.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

Re: Larry Brown

Brown plays under looser set of rules

Well-traveled Pistons coach already putting Cavs' pieces together
Sam Smith
On Pro Basketball

May 30, 2005

It appears Larry Brown's staff is being put together in Cleveland, with former Spurs and current Pacers assistant Mike Brown the likely head coach and Pacers executive David Morway, a former agent who worked with Brown in Indiana, a possible top executive.

Larry Brown's closest NBA confidants remain the Pacers' Donnie Walsh and the Spurs' Gregg Popovich, and he always works within his NBA and North Carolina networks for hiring. To spread that network, Brown asks his assistants to hire members of his inner circle when they get head-coaching jobs. That's how Herb Brown ended up in Atlanta with Mike Woodson.

Yes, it's all one big Larry Brown family. Oh, that's right. What about the job Brown has as coach of the Detroit Pistons? He even has three more years left on his contract. Although Brown has denied ever meeting new Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, word around the NBA is Brown applied for the job as Cavs president weeks ago and has been waiting for the end of the Pistons' season.

So, one top team official asked me last week, "Why don't you guys in the media point out that the guy who talks about `playing the right way' is the biggest hypocrite in the NBA? Here's a guy in the middle of a playoff run, the most important time for his franchise, committing the biggest sin. He's looking for a job while he's under contract. I'd be screaming it everywhere to everyone. What can be more wrong than that? Where's all the loyalty he always talks about? The commitment? The dedication?"

That's Larry, I explained.

Larry Brown is the Charles Barkley of coaching. He always is going to say or do something outrageous. If you hire him, you have to understand that. For every job Brown has had in the NBA, he has been applying for another job before he was done. Halfway through his last season with the Pacers, he was looking at the 76ers' job. He took the Pacers' job before he left the Clippers. The Nets let him go when he had the Kansas job. He fired himself from the Spurs job to work for the Clippers.

The tradeoff is your team gets better immediately. The Pistons have one championship under Brown and are working on a second. Fire him now? The Pistons likely wouldn't get to the Finals. And, like Barkley, Brown is beloved by the media. He's open, cooperative, funny, accessible and smart. So, as with Barkley, you ignore the politically incorrect stuff, the actions no one else would be allowed to get away with. There are different rules for some people. Phil Jackson said this, so it must be right.

Not that the Pistons want Brown back. He could be one of those rare coaches to be run out after winning consecutive titles. The players are weary from his constant demands and corrections. Hiring Brown is being stuck in "Damn Yankees." You will win, but at what price? You better have a successor in mind as soon as you hire him and put up with the daily instabilities. Brown is known to torment his stars, leaving the likes of Danny Manning, David Robinson and Reggie Miller shaking their heads. Because this is what Brown demands: Play hard all the time, dive on the floor, make the extra pass, the right way. "OK, but geez, coach, I'm also getting 27 and 12." No matter. It's why they get better and then they wear out, and Brown knows the time.

He sees it now with the Pistons, which is why he's leaving. Granted, he has physical problems that probably would limit his coaching again soon.

Life with Brown as team president could be interesting for LeBron James, who despite the public image isn't the most selfless, committed individual. Brown saw that when he was the Olympic coach, and that's why James didn't play much.

One thing's for sure: Watching this all play out will be entertaining.

 

[CBBI]

Re: Larry Brown

As long as Larry Brown comes in as Team President and instills his "play the right way" philosophy/attitude and brings some credibility to the franchise, I'm all for it.

However, having him in charge of personnel decisions is terrifying. Let Newton or Morway or Ferry do his own thing under Brown's watch.

 

[Karma]

Re: Larry Brown

I have stated from the start that I am not against Larry Brown coming to the Cavalier's. I have to agree with CBBI, that there needs to be a strong man in with him so as not to allow Brown to be the sole voice in player movement and so forth. This can be a positive step.

 

[King]

Re: Larry Brown

I feel a bit better about Larry Brown now that the rumors are about him becoming president and not gm. But im just afraid he's gonna have too much influence on the personnel decisions, especially since LB is said to be close friends with the rumored gm that will come in if LB is hired.

 

[Cleveland56]

Chad Ford says......

Larry Brown is next Cavaliers President!