Knicks Considering Buying Out Larry Brown After One Season

Knicks Reportedly Eyeing Buyout Of Brown’s Contract

MSG Chair James Dolan “is considering buying out the final four years” of Knicks coach Larry Brown’s contract, which is worth at least $40M, because Dolan is “upset over Brown’s record and the coach’s public criticism of his players,” according to sources cited by Frank Isola of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Brown has not met with team execs since the season ended, and a team official said that Brown “requested a meeting with Dolan but [President of Basketball Operations Isiah] Thomas has told Brown there is no reason for him to meet” with Dolan. Sources said that Thomas “was upset that Brown chose to publicly air his complaints about the Knicks’ flawed roster.” After Dolan reportedly told Brown in February “to focus on coaching the players,” Dolan “gave Thomas a strong endorsement, while giving Brown a lukewarm review” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/14). In N.Y., Peter Vecsey reported the remaining four years on Brown’s contract are worth $44M, and that Dolan and MSG President Steve Mills are “strongly urging Thomas to take over as head coach” (N.Y. POST, 5/14).

REASONS WHY: In Newark, David Waldstein cites two NBA execs as saying that Dolan “considers Brown a huge disappointment and a disruptive force, and the only reason he hasn’t dismissed him is the $40[M] he still has coming to him” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 5/15). In N.Y., Marc Berman reports Dolan and Mills “believe the Knicks will be hard pressed to ransack the roster to Brown’s liking” (N.Y. POST, 5/15). Also in N.Y., Beck & Robbins report that in addition to the compensation issue, team execs have yet to make a decision on Brown’s future “because of the picture of defeat a buyout of his contract would represent.” The Knicks “could fire Brown, ... or they could negotiate a buyout for a lesser sum.” Also, Brown “could decide to walk away, if he finds another lucrative opportunity” (N.Y. TIMES, 5/15).

REAX: N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica said, “The idea that James Dolan would select Isiah Thomas after the job he’s done here over (Brown) shows you why the Knicks are the single biggest mess in professional sports at this time.” Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan added, “Did (Brown) not have any idea about the ineptitude of the Dolans and how they’ve run Madison Square Garden Inc. into the ground?” (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 5/14). Lupica today writes of MSG, “The place is simply the pits.” With Dolan, Mills and Thomas, “the team in the executive offices would be worse than the one on the court” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/15). NEWSDAY’s Barbara Barker writes of Dolan, “What kind of mind sits down, looks at the team and decides that the person who needs to go is the one proven winner?” Thomas and Mills “are joined at the hip. And it’s clear that Brown might have had intentions of trying to push both out of the picture. Instead, it appears that Larry Brown is leaving, and Knicks fans are being stuck with Larry, Shemp and Curly Joe” (NEWSDAY, 5/15).