Brown out in New York; Isiah takes over

Brown’s ouster had been reported for more than a month and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan made it official on Thursday.

"Larry has had a long and storied career. We hired him last summer with the expectation that he would be with the Knicks for a long time. Sometimes decisions work and sometimes they don’t. After careful consideration, despite the best intentions from everyone involved, this current structure did not work for us last season and I did not think it was going to improve next season," Dolan said in a statement.

Brown left the Detroit Pistons for his "Dream Job" with the Knicks and suffered through a 23-59 season. Not only was the record the worst for the Knicks since an identical mark in 1986-87, but the 2005-06 season included a reported rift between Brown and Thomas, as well as public criticism from the coach to his players.

"I have great personal admiration for Larry, but have concluded that it is best for our franchise if we make this change," Dolan continued. "We understand that fans were not happy with the performance of the team last season and neither were we. We are committed to making major improvements next season towards our goal of producing a winning basketball team."

Now, it will be up to Thomas to coach the team he has put together.

"No one in our organization is happy with last season and we all accept responsibility for our performance," Thomas said in a statement. "This has been a difficult time for the entire organization and our fans. Today begins the 2006-07 season for the Knicks, and I strongly believe we are on the right track to take major steps in our rebuilding process to achieve our goal of being one of the premier teams in the NBA. 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."

Thomas, who joined the Knicks as president and general manager on December 22, 2003, previously served as a head coach with the Indiana Pacers for three seasons from 2000-01 through 2002-03. He compiled a record of 131-115, making the playoffs in each of his three seasons.