Jordan, Brown & Isiah: A Juicy Trifecta <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Who could forget the famous last words that came out of Larry Brown's mouth in January 2005? While still employed as coach of the Detroit Pistons, Brown called coaching the Knicks his "dream" and professed his "love" for Isiah Thomas. Barely two years later, who could fail to see the similarities in what Brown told The Philadelphia Inquirer in a column published yesterday about his next dream job? "Everyone knows I have a very special relationship with Michael," said Brown, who is still employed as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers. "I've known him for years. We're family, and I love him. So saying 'no' to him would be almost impossible for me, just because it would be hard for me to say 'no' to him about anything." So the game is on. Only 24 hours after Michael Jordan showed his face for once in Charlotte, announcing Tuesday that Bernie Bickerstaff would not return to coach the Bobcats next season, the man Jordan fondly nicknamed "Seabiscuit" has emerged as the only horse in this race. The clash of egos would be glorious to watch, not to mention the jolt it would give to the most bitter of basketball rivalries, that between Jordan and Isiah. The mutual dislike has been dormant too long, and it would only come back more virulent than ever, given that Jordan happens to be one of the people Thomas can safely say he has outperformed as an NBA executive. Going to work for Jordan in Charlotte would allow Brown to stick it to the Knicks, a possibility that must be dancing like dollar signs in his head. Only a season removed from backing the Brinks truck into the Madison Square Garden loading dock and filling it with the final installment of his $27.5 million for winning 23 games, Brown would get another massive payday. Not only that, he'd be working for Isiah's sworn enemy. It's the perfect marriage of basketball icons who bleed Carolina blue and, given the choice, would agree that there's no one they'd rather bloody in basketball than Thomas. Are we sure, David Stern, that we can't arrange keeping the Nets in New Jersey and moving the Bobcats of Jordan and Brown to Brooklyn? Maybe it's just a coincidence that Jordan, the Bobcats' absentee managing member of basketball operations, finally is asserting himself only days after Thomas received an extension as coach and president of the Knicks. But it has to be killing Jordan that Isiah keeps getting jobs and actually might lead the Knicks to the playoffs with essentially the same roster that tanked for Brown. Not only that, but Thomas has names such as Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, Damon Stoudamire, Jermaine O'Neal and now Eddy Curry on his resume. (To be fair, he also has Jamaal Tinsley and Jerome James.) But Jordan's resume includes drafting Kwame Brown, getting fired by the Washington Wizards, and using his first pick in Charlotte on Adam Morrison, a 38-percent shooter as a rookie. Given their history - the infamous freeze-out of Jordan in the 1985 All-Star Game and Thomas' Dream Team snub, believed to have been orchestrated by Jordan - their relative standing as basketball execs certainly would be fun to evaluate. Why not have Brown coach the Bobcats and let him settle the debate? The truth is, Jordan's partnership with Brown probably won't last much longer than Isiah's . It is instructive to cite a passage from SI.com that appeared on July 21, 2005, a week before the Knicks hired Brown. Jordan should check it out, too.</div> Source
Brown did a terrible job at New York, but I think he's the ideal coach for a team like Charlotte. They are young, coachable, and they have the peices to be a good team. There's a lot of scope for improvement there, and that's what Larry Brown does best. Develop and improve teams.
