You're A Good Man, Larry Brown

Will someone please explain to me what's going on with the Larry Brown situation? As of right now, word is that he might get fired from the Detroit Pistons—whom he led to a championship and a Finals Game Seven. The Pistons's previous coach, in case you forgot, was Rick Carlisle, who led them to two straight 50-win seasons before HE was fired. (Which leads one to wonder what exactly it is they're looking for in a coach.)

They got rid of Carlisle because they had a chance to get Brown. They'll get rid of Brown—if they do—because he had the gall to interview for the Cavs job of team president DURING this year's Finals. And while yes, that's a major breach of etiquette, was anyone really surprised? Hiring Brown as your coach is like dating a girl from an escort service. You need to be satisfied with the job they do for you and not worry so much about what they're doing with other people.

But maybe that's not the real reason. After all, Joe Dumars has added a lot of young pieces--namely Darko Milicic, but also Carlos Arroyo and Carlos Delfino--who have barely gotten off the bench. While winning has been great, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start developing some of that young talent. You know, just in case some of the other guys on the team start aging.

The thing that's the most mind-boggling, though, is the idea of Larry Brown coaching the Knicks. Not only is their payroll higher than the GNP of some countries already (while LB won't count against the cap, he'll definitely command a high seven-figure salary), but it's just hard to see how he'll be able to help out the Knicks. First off, he's widely known to be extra-hard on point guards, and neither Stephon Marbury or Jamal Crawford are exactly prototypical ones. Factor in the three rookies they just added, and the fact that they just traded the one player who knew how to play defense to the Suns, and, well—if Brown does come to New York, he'll be interviewing for other jobs by the All-Star break.