Brown: Getting ready for fun...

K

Kings113

All-Star
"However, Brown seems anxious for April 20, too, when he gets a chance to torpedo Isiah Thomas' roster. Team Titanic owns the NBA's worst record at 19-51, enduring the franchise's most catastrophic season."

"Brown said he wants to keep players with a defensive mindset who buy into the program. The list, then, is not long. It likely includes Quentin Richardson, Qyntel Woods, David Lee, Jackie Butler, Malik Rose and Channing Frye."


Big names such as Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose and center Eddy Curry have not earned their stripes with Brown. Veterans such as Jerome James and Maurice Taylor, Brown would pay for their one-way ticket out of LaGuardia. Taylor and Rose will have expiring contracts, giving them trade value. The Knicks have two late first-round picks to peddle."

Dolan's superior choices are five in number - Jerry Colangelo, Jerry West, Donnie Walsh, Geoff Petrie and ex-Knick Kiki Vandeweghe whose father, Ernie, played for the above-mentioned '51 outfit. Kiki, of course, transformed the Nuggets from layoffs to payoffs in less than two seasons and is a rising free agent."
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http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/63780.htm
 
April 1, 2006 -- Has Stephon Marbury played his last game as a Knick?
Before Marbury went down last night with a strained right knee, possibly for the season, Larry Brown said the Knicks will seek a classic point guard this summer, believing Marbury is no longer equipped to play the position full-time.
Brown said in a bombshell remark Marbury likely will play shooting guard, if he's back, feeling he's lost a step defensively.
Now, Marbury is stepping very gingerly after the Knicks announced he has a strained patella tendon after landing awkwardly on a runner in the lane with 3:43 left in the first quarter in their 117-112 loss to the Sixers at the Garden in which they blew an 11-point second-half lead.
Marbury will undergo an MRI exam today and there's a small chance the team could shut him down for the final 11 games, joining Channing Frye. Marbury, according to Brown, complained of knee pain the day before and played through last season with knee stiffness.
However, Marbury was not on crutches. He sat on the bench in a black pinstriped suit for the second half. Marbury left before reporters were let into the locker room. Brown's pregame remarks were stunning, as he never even brought up the name of Steve Francis when discussing the roster.


In Brown's most candid remarks about Marbury's defensive flaws, the coach said, "Guarding people out on the perimeter, with all their quickness, I mean, he's not getting younger."
Marbury is 29 and playing on two surgically repaired ankles. The Knicks' defense keeps getting more deplorable; they've allowed 106 points per game in March alone. And the breakdowns have started on the perimeter.
Hornets free agent Speedy Claxton, who played for Brown in Philadelphia, is on the coach's wish list. Claxton is a good defender, ball-handler and looks first to set up others. The former Hofstra star is behind Rookie of the Year shoo-in Chris Paul.
Claxton could be available for the $5 million mid-level exception, the only avenue other than a sign-and-trade in which the Knicks can obtain a decent free agent.
The Raptors' Mike James is another possibility, but it looks like "The Amityville Scorer" is seeking a payday in excess of the $5 million exception.
"We definitely need to get a guy who has that [point-guard] mentality," Brown said. "The more I see Steph, the more convinced I am he can play both positions - defensively [at shooting guard], without any problem. Offensively, I think he's great coming off screens. I really like him off the ball. I like the way he guards the 2-guard."
Brown said if they can't get add another point guard, he told Isiah Thomas "maybe it's Jamal [Crawford], maybe it's Nate [Robinson]."
That Brown did not mention Francis, whom the Knicks obtained five weeks ago, was bizarre. Francis, too, has struggled defensively, with turnovers (2.4) and has averaged 3.3 assists.
Marbury asked Brown in November if he could play shooting guard because he didn't feel playing the point in Brown's offense was fun.
That has been an overriding issue this season: Marbury buying into Brown's system. Brown said Marbury could still play some point guard next season.
"I'd love to have three-guard rotation," Brown said. "If you have a guy like Stephon whose played the point and you know he can play off the ball, it gives you some options."
Brown has been thinking about next season's overhaul. He revealed he's making Thomas a list of young players eligible for free agency. "I've been trying to identify those kids all year," Brown said. "I look at rosters. Kids who might be a free agent, kids two years ago who were highly sought in the draft and it hasn't worked out for them. I've got a whole list of guys for Isiah."
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"Qyntel Woods, the Knicks' lone free agent, wants to re-sign. "I would love to come back," Woods told The Post. "I love the system. I love Coach Brown. He gave me a second chance. I'd love to play for him next year. I think he'd want me back." Brown said he did."
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http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/66363.htm

Good to see for Woods, he really has been one of their few brightspots this season.
 
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i don't think things are gonna be lookin' up for the knicks anytime soon. nobody's gonna wanna take on starbury's contract, attitude, and bad ankles. in that sense, he's perfect for the new york knicks. he's got a new york contract and a new york attitude. stevie franchise is the same way. he's got a new york contract and a new york attitude, and is a perfect fit for the city, if not the team. even isiah thomas is perfect for new york. he's a big name who's gettin' paid big money, and he's into players with big names who get paid big money. however, it is very clear that larry brown is not perfect for new york. in fact, he's the opposite of what the knicks need. he's a blue collar coach trying to reach a bunch of pampered primadonnas. new york needed phil jackson when he was available. the zenmaster loves the spotlight, he loves the media, he loves mind games, and he loves to battle with high profile players (even though he probably would never admit to that).
 
Kings113 said:
Uh, no one is a "name" on that team other than Marbury/Francis ;). Maybe Jalen Rose and Q-Rich...

A bunch of the roster just has big contracts: http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm
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regardless of how you want to define a "name," the team is constructed poorly, and that's part of the legacy of the knicks since about the coming of the millenium, and this was thr crux of my point. they attract overrated players with attitudes and throw a whole lotta money at them, and they have a coach who is not suited for coaching the kinds of players that the team pursues.
 
Petrie's a choice for NY? What the hell? Vecsey's a lying piece of crap. He later said in his article something like the Maloofs would let Petrie go. Again, what the hell? He is one of the best GMs in the league and they'd be idiots to let him go. Peter Vescey=lying piece of trash.
 
Padrino said:
regardless of how you want to define a "name," the team is constructed poorly, and that's part of the legacy of the knicks since about the coming of the millenium, and this was thr crux of my point. they attract overrated players with attitudes and throw a whole lotta money at them, and they have a coach who is not suited for coaching the kinds of players that the team pursues.
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...Indeed.

But my previous post was in response to this:

he's a big name who's gettin' paid big money, and he's into players with big names who get paid big money.
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Here's the Vescey article:

March 31, 2006 -- WHEN I'm not being accused by first grade readers of being excessively negative about the 19-51 Knicks - who would have a hard time against the dead or alive 1951 Knicks - and charged with having something personal against Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury, I'm dared to holster my harpoon and my dirty red bandana, and formulate a solution to the team's problems instead of harping on them.

Though inclined to take the easy way out by setting up a tent around the Garden and calling it a circus, I accept their challenge.

The first order of business is for James Dolan to hire a confirmed planner, a person experienced at erecting franchises pre-foundation and/or rebuilding them by creating something out of perishables or nothing tangible to the unskilled eye.

Not only must this significant someone be given complete power to inflict his will and know-how on the Knicks' extreme make-over, but the entire Garden as well.

This would abruptly end the dream portion of Cablevision's programming.

Dolan's superior choices are five in number - Jerry Colangelo, Jerry West, Donnie Walsh, Geoff Petrie and ex-Knick Kiki Vandeweghe whose father, Ernie, played for the above-mentioned '51 outfit. Kiki, of course, transformed the Nuggets from layoffs to payoffs in less than two seasons and is a rising free agent.

The other four have repeated success stories to their credit. Despite a year (both Jerrys, for sure) or two on their contracts I cannot envision their respective bosses impeding any such switch. Who knows, Suns owner Robert Sarver may even encourage Colangelo to follow his son's footsteps out of Phoenix.

If selling Cablevision, the Garden and its two prime tenants, the Knicks and Rangers is out of the question, and Dolan doesn't find any of those names appealing, I guess there's always Pete or Rob Babcock.

One validated executive or the other, the Knicks cannot represent next season as currently composed.

Dolan cannot take a chance of permitting Thomas' mismanagement team to correct their endless mistakes.

He cannot afford to put the undeviating frown of Brown - who clearly has given up on getting anything constructive out of his players, whom, in turn, have tuned out their coach - back on the bench and in front of the cameras at post-game press conferences.

(My guess is the players are praying Brown will tell his "win the right way" story walking. His reputation as a great teacher and motivator has fallen to the point where he will have to climb a ladder to reach bottom.

Remember from our playing days the fast-break drills without a defense? That's what it looked like during Wednesday's first half, Celtics 71, Knicks 51 . . . and a lot of other halves, for that matter.

I would've paid to read what Brown and his platoon of assistants were scribbling so intently on their clipboards.

Without question, the most-uttered phrase this season in all the NBA is, "and the Knicks look to cut the deficit to under double figures by the end of the first quarter.")

Dolan cannot allow the contagious Steph Infection to infect his teammates another moment.

He cannot take the risk of repeating the repulsiveness we're witnessing on a regular basis, so much so the fans are almost too bored to boo.

Season ticket holders must have hope. And since the Bulls have the Knicks' No. 1 pick, someone undaunted in terms of making unforgiving decisions must be recruited for whatever it takes.

Someone unafraid to hold people immediately accountable, who won't flinch about serving up heads on platters; hey, it worked for the Romans, it works for me.

Someone who can make a difference.

Someone who has made a difference.

Someone who can make the survivors feel good about themselves again.

Someone who understands the burden of expectations in New York and won't be cowed by criticism or make himself unavailable to critics.

Someone who'll command his coach to stop devaluing the players and to adjust to the personnel on hand as opposed to demanding they conform to his system. I suspect Joe Torre and Willie Randolph will have their pitching rotations set long before Brown figures out his starting five.

Someone who'll insist the coach build the team around Eddy Curry, makes sure he gets the ball on every possession, and plays him 'til he drops, fouls out or gets in shape; why is Brown waiting until next year to overplay the guy for whom Thomas gave up this June's No. 1?

Someone practiced at stretching and squeezing resources instead of squandering them.

Someone who won't put up with a coach who says "we" but makes it sound like "they."

peter.vecsey@nypost.com
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I dislike Peter Vescey intensely. Having said that, I have to applaud one part:

My guess is the players are praying Brown will tell his "win the right way" story walking. His reputation as a great teacher and motivator has fallen to the point where he will have to climb a ladder to reach bottom.
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Now that's funny...and sad if you're a Knicks fan. Which I'm not...so I'm back to funny.
 
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