My Quick Take: This time, Larry Brown gets a pass. Well, sort of.
For decades, the vagabond on the sideline has played NBA teams and college programs against each other in an attempt to secure more money and power.
Brown has no issue negotiating a contract with one team while coaching another. And his tactics are at odds with the ‘Play The Right Way’ mantra he publicly demands from players.
In short, Brown is talented, but hypocritical. Some say he’s a Diva. Others tab him a Prima Donna.
However, the Hall of Famer can be excused for recently inquiring about employment opportunities with the Los Angeles Clippers. If businessman George Postolos had succeeded in buying the Charlotte Bobcats, he would have fired minority owner and executive Michael Jordan and coach Brown.
So Brown, allegedly, called the Clippers and talked with The Don, as in team owner Donald Sterling, about the coach and/or GM job.
Fair enough. Brown did what anyone would do when their job is at risk –he protected himself. And this differs from past situations where he manufactured, fabricated, and created fictitious reasons for leaving.
But Jordan, not Postolos, bought the team, so Brown’s job is safe and he must immediately clarify reports he wants to swap Carolina for Hollywood. Both Charlotte and Brown can’t afford distractions.
After a slow start, the Bobcats -behind the strong play of Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace- could secure their first ever playoff spot. Best of all, their greasy, defensive style is perfect for the grind of a seven-game series.
Each game is too valuable for the players to answer questions on Brown's future. Tonight, the ninth-place Bobcats face the eighth-place Miami Heat and the difference between the two teams for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs is one game.
After dealing with George Shinn’s backstabbing and Bob Johnson’s penny-pinching, there's a sense Jordan will turn Charlotte around on-and-off court. Even rumors of Brown’s defection are enough to kill the positive vibes and do further damage to this recovering market.
Sure, coaching the Clippers and living in Malibu sounds enticing, but Brown is still rebuilding his reputation after ditching former Pistons owner Bill Davidson for James Dolan's dysfunctional Knicks.
Don't forget Jordan rescued Brown from the coaching scrap heap, so heading west for more cash and/or control would be, perhaps, his most disloyal act yet.
Brown’s call to Sterling is excusable, but only if he addresses today’s news and honours his contract with the Bobcats. Jordan, the players and city of Charlotte deserve nothing less.
What do you think of Coach Brown’s call to the Clippers? What should he do now? Get at us in the comment box below. Photo courtesy of jaquirk.
