Larry Brown Is Our New Coach!

[Alex]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3373007

Press conference set for tomorrow afternoon. This is great news for this organization!! Get ready for a lot of national media coverage this off season and some more national respectability next season.

There really is no excuse for us not to make the playoffs in the East with Larry Brown as our coach.

[King Taharqa]

I'd love to know how long the deal is for.

[Alex]

I'd love to know how long the deal is for.

Well you'll know in about 12 hours.

I'm guessing 3 years for $15 million

[dvdbumpus]

My guess is 3 years ranging from 15 - 20 million.

[Icky Thump]

WOOT! Just saw the report on Sportscenter! Much better than FHB for sure!

[TheBeagle]

You beat me to it, Alex!!! No matter; it's great news, and my season ticket deposit's going down tomorrow, baby!!! We may be looking at the watershed event that makes this team relevant for the forseeable future, fellas. It's a great friggin' week to be a Bobcat fan!

[x2pacalypse]

3 years 17 mil is my guess...i was off timing by like 14 hours...do u guys still give me at least part of ur soul?

[Alex]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2008/04/five-ways-larry.html

Five interesting points by Bonnell (gasp!)

[ohara831]

THANK YOU MJ!!!!! You did the right thing letting your friend go and hiring a Coach with a proven track record. Great hire!

Remember Brown got that huge payoff from the Knicks for that debacle in NY. Maybe he's going to prove he is not all about $ and take the job at a reduced cost? Maybe under $5 mil / year? No, not much of a chance on that - I agree it will likly be a 3 yr $15mil job.

Bonnell was right in his article. Brown will let Felton run the PG for the yr to see if he can truly hang with it, and Okafor will be able to see if he likes Brown's system enough to sign a long term Contract with us.

Question: Many times, a new regime comes in and wants to put a stamp on it's Team, make changes to create a new identity in the mold of it's Coach. Do you think Larry will make some changes/trades to shake anything up, or use the talent we have and only add the Draft pick(s)? I don't know the answer, but it will be interesting.

[dav7z]

Hear is another anouncment,
http://www.charlotte.com/507/story/601288.html

[MattD]

the best part about it is that Vincent made it sound like he knew that they would hire him. Vincent's always right, right? What an ass, I am so glad hes gone

[Dead_Real]

Great hire finally a coach that can bring some direction and a actual system to Charlotte b-ball all we hope for now is that the injury bug stays the fuck away from our squad. I'm also looking forward to seeing what direction we go in the upcoming draft w/Brown on board now it wouldn't surprise me if we traded the pick for a veteran if we landed at 8 again.

[tamburello]

This is the beginning of a new era for the Bobcats, maybe the end of the building era. I wish Brown good luck. Hopefully he'll do a good job.

[Muttley]

Like many of you, I expect this to be the beginning of great new things for the Bobcats. At the very least it should bring us some relevance in the eyes of the national (and even local) media. This is only important because as much as we shouldn't care that they write and say crap about our team, they also potentially turn away would-be fans which are needed to help this team continue to grow from the business end and then use that to improve on the basketball end. That, and I hate hearing about the "lowly Bobcats" in every article I read. We'll see how lowly we are.

I expect Coach Brown (that felt good) to shake things up a bit. I'm not sure the avenue he'll take to do this, but I see him putting his stamp on the team long-term. He is 67 and if he stays three years... well, then he'll be 70. I doubt he's using the Bobcats as a stepping stone. While he may not continue to coach forever in Charlotte, with his "Carolina ties" (that's turned into a buzzword) and his Mama living in Charlotte I could picture him moving into a managerial/behind-the-scenes role that hopefully will keep us on the right track for years beyond his tenure as coach. Anyways, I'm getting way ahead of myself. This team needs a good season. The players deserve one for all the hard work they've done, and for putting up with and not whining about former Coach whatever-his-name-was. I welcome the new Brown Era. ("I'm down with the Brown" t-shirts anyone?)

Do good things Coach.

[Slam]

Larry Brown is looking VERY good for a repeat of 2000-2001 IMO.

[dav7z]

Agreeded 2008/2009 Bobcats to the playoffs.

[Slam]

Agreeded 2008/2009 Bobcats to the playoffs.

And Brown will win his 2nd NBA Coach of the Year award.

[ohara831]

Wow! That was a bombshell of which I was unaware. I did not know, and dont know if it was ever public before, that MJ approached Larry Brown last season about Coaching and that larry and his wife said "not at this time." I did not know we even spoke with him last yr. At least we tried for him last yr, which gives me a little different perspective on mgmnt. At least they tried for a great Coach last yr.

[ohara831]

Double Wow!! On ESPN, Stephen A. Smith actually praised the move as the right thing to do! He actually agreed with something we did!

Interesting that Stephen A. Smith also said that the team had felt Sam Vincent was in over his head and it all seemed to start in that Boston game when Ray Allen hit the miracle 3 against us. Something to do with the personnel in the game at the time and their assignments. But it sounds like he thought Boston inbounded the ball and we goofed with our coverage of the inbounding player and stuff like that. Actually, we had the ball and Boston stole it and Ray Allen hit the shot. I think Stephen A. Smith is in over his head, too!

[Slam]

Double Wow!! On ESPN, Stephen A. Smith actually praised the move as the right thing to do! He actually agreed with something we did!

Interesting that Stephen A. Smith also said that the team had felt Sam Vincent was in over his head and it all seemed to start in that Boston game when Ray Allen hit the miracle 3 against us. Something to do with the personnel in the game at the time and their assignments. But it sounds like he thought Boston inbounded the ball and we goofed with our coverage of the inbounding player and stuff like that. Actually, we had the ball and Boston stole it and Ray Allen hit the shot. I think Stephen A. Smith is in over his head, too!

I think it was more that Vincent refused to call a time out, take EO50 out of the game, and put in a better FT shooter. This meant that the Celts could double coverage the inbounds and leave EO50 open.

It was a bad, bad mistake by Vincent that cost us the game and pissed the players off.

[Mustachio]

Just saw the presser.... couple quick thoughts.


1. I think its gonna be a better relationship than several people are predicting. Think about how the players treated Sam in public and during the games. While we each know they disagreed and were frustrated by Sam... they showed respect and kept most of it private. If they show that respect to Sam Vincent you can expect 10 times that for Brown.

2. The "instant credibility" factor cannot be denied. With Suite, Club and season ticket holders in a renewal year.... this hiring makes a ton of sense. First of all, with the hire of Brown comes league wide respect. I dont mean they are gonna lay down for him or anything... but the respect level just left the building from where it was at.
Press conferences will get more air-time, games will be disected more (wether we like it or not). BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY with the "instant cred" the players attitudes. an important aspect of coaching (i think at least) is clout. When we walk out on the floor, there will be no doubt who is making the decisions out there. When we walk out on the floor...everyone from the fans to the opposing players know whats going on. Larry Brown demands that kind of clout from everyone and i dont think that can be over looked.

3. Phil Ford will be around for a while longer. good or bad.

4. Raymond Felton will get better with a sytem and proper guidance.. not to mention another year getting familiar with team mates especially Jrich wallace and oak.

5. Im not entirely sure how much longer im gonna be able to stand this Carolina love. I about threw up a couple times during the presser with LB constantly blowing Dean. But im willing to work with it. One thing i never understood about building with Carolina Guys to sell tickets.... for every 1 Carolina fan that buys a ticket theres 3 fans (2 duke, 1 general unc hater) that dont buy.

6. This is gonna be better. Im not a huge Larry Brown fan. Im sure there may have been some other guys out there for the long haul or whatever. But for our current situation i think its a perfect fit. We needed better coaching, we got it. We needed to keep fans, i think we have now. We needed to gain fans, I think there is a possibility for sure.




Welcome to Charlotte, Larry! I hope your stay lives up to what we all hope it can be.

[Slam]

He signed for 4 years.

[Alex]

Any links to the press conference?

[MattD]

espn has a clip along with a radio interview im listening to right now

[Muttley]

I found some quotes from Raymond and Nazr on 999thefan.com reacting to the Brown hiring (99.9 is the Raleigh FM sports station). http://www.wral.com/sports/story/2811733/

Raymond's reaction:

(On Larry Brown being named coach)“I am definitely excited. It’s going to be a really challenging experience for me because he is going to stay on top of me. It’s also going to be a real challenging experience for the whole team. He’s a tough coach, he’s a great coach and he is going to expect to bring out (the best) in all of us every day, even in practice.”

(On his teammates’ reactions)
“Everybody has got smiles on their faces, everyone is excited and ready to come back and get to work. (Coach Brown) is going to come in and expect a lot out of us. He is going to try to make us better each and every day and we are definitely looking forward to that.”Nazr's reaction:

On what he knows from playing for Coach Brown in Philadelphia from 1998-2001)“He tries to teach everyone. He is going to try to teach me and teach every guy on this team, so you’ve got to be prepared to learn and take it as coaching and not criticism.
I haven’t had the chance to talk to everyone (on the team) yet so no one has asked me any questions. I know everyone is probably going to ask me some questions before it is all said and done.”

(On looking forward to next season)
“I think we’re going to be a very dangerous team. I feel we grew towards the end of the year and this definitely adds another weapon for us with one of the greatest coaches who ever coached in this league, so it’s only going to help us and we’ve got to follow his instructions to get better. The goal of every team going into the season is to make the playoffs and we are definitely going to try to play the right way to make the playoffs.”
I especially like what Ray had to say about the players' happiness with the situation. I realize they all wanted Sam gone, but the way he describes it is a very positive sign for the future.

[CTownSC]

for every 1 Carolina fan that buys a ticket theres 3 fans (2 duke, 1 general unc hater) that dont buy

Besides the fact that this statement is total BS - even if there were twice as many dook fans, at least the Carolina fans live close enough to CLT to get to the game by car.

This is a great hire and the Bobcats should be damn happy to have coach Brown. Other coaches in his league unfortunately would not give us the time of day I'm afraid. Especially with jobs like Miami opening up. I wish I lived close enough to go to games a couple time a week.

[Mustachio]

for every 1 Carolina fan that buys a ticket theres 3 fans (2 duke, 1 general unc hater) that dont buy

Besides the fact that this statement is total BS - even if there were twice as many dook fans, at least the Carolina fans live close enough to CLT to get to the game by car.

This is a great hire and the Bobcats should be damn happy to have coach Brown. Other coaches in his league unfortunately would not give us the time of day I'm afraid. Especially with jobs like Miami opening up. I wish I lived close enough to go to games a couple time a week.



YAH another UNCer!!! way to pick the most irrelevant line of that post... meant more as a joke... but ill play along i guarentee you that i can find 3 fans who hate UNC to every fan you can find that likes em.

"at least the Carolina fans live close enough to CLT to get to the game by car." huh????

[BIGCatBobcat]

for every 1 Carolina fan that buys a ticket theres 3 fans (2 duke, 1 general unc hater) that dont buy

Besides the fact that this statement is total BS - even if there were twice as many dook fans, at least the Carolina fans live close enough to CLT to get to the game by car.

This is a great hire and the Bobcats should be damn happy to have coach Brown. Other coaches in his league unfortunately would not give us the time of day I'm afraid. Especially with jobs like Miami opening up. I wish I lived close enough to go to games a couple time a week.

I agree, great fire and hire. Remember it took Jordan going "I made a mistake with this guy" AGAIN, after he did it in Washington, at least we got Larry Brown and not Doug Collins this time.

The Carolina thing baffles me. The NBA is a different animal all together, different product, international, national (as opposed to somewhat regional conferences), better athletes, better coaches, adults vs. kids. How does the logic work that the more Carolina players, coaches, front office people, ticket takers and bartenders we get in the orgainzation equate to more fans attending, buying boxes, merch, talking about this team? Honestly, it's good for about 15 mins of buzz then it dies. I had a rather lengthy and nice rant about it on the Media Reactions thread where I summarized by saying, basically, can't we just call it a coincidence? Can't we just say, oh well they all went to Carolina. I'm talking about both ways, the people who say it's bad as well as the people who say it's good.

If you want to go to an NBA game because 1/5 of the people on the bench (2 coaches, 2 players out of what 21-23 total?) went to your favorite college and basically only 2 of those guys matter (Brown and Ray vs. Ford and May) you are saddly misguided, but we're glad you showed up.

Get over the Carolina thing.

[Muttley]

As an avid ABCer, I gotta say I love the Bobcats. I love the LB hire. I hope he wins championships here with Raymond Felton as the PG.

I think you summed it up pretty well there BigCat.

[CTownSC]

[quote=Mustachio;88632]YAH another UNCer!!! way to pick the most irrelevant line of that post... meant more as a joke... but ill play along i guarentee you that i can find 3 fans who hate UNC to every fan you can find that likes em.


What you say may be irrelevant but that was your bullet statement - I'm not going to get into a whizzing contest either but in general I meant that you will never find 2 dook fans for 1 Carolina fan around these parts for anything. Now being a Heels fan I certainly don't mind having a few of the good guys on the team but other than that there isn't really any more to it. In fact unless we start winning big I think it only sets us up for ridicule. For the most part once you get kicked out of the nest and go pro its all business . I am new here so I will quit before I get locked up, but I hope LB makes a huge impact on this team going forward, heel or no heel. Go Bcats

[Mustachio]

[quote=Mustachio;88632]YAH another UNCer!!! way to pick the most irrelevant line of that post... meant more as a joke... but ill play along i guarentee you that i can find 3 fans who hate UNC to every fan you can find that likes em.


What you say may be irrelevant but that was your bullet statement - I'm not going to get into a whizzing contest either but in general I meant that you will never find 2 dook fans for 1 Carolina fan around these parts for anything. Now being a Heels fan I certainly don't mind having a few of the good guys on the team but other than that there isn't really any more to it. In fact unless we start winning big I think it only sets us up for ridicule. For the most part once you get kicked out of the nest and go pro its all business . I am new here so I will quit before I get locked up, but I hope LB makes a huge impact on this team going forward, heel or no heel. Go Bcats


you wont get locked up for cheering on Carolina i promise. You can cheer for whomever you like.... even if its for the Evil Dean Empire

as long as your a Bobcats fan, you're good with me. I probably should have been more inviting... my bad. but those Tar Heel Firsters get to me sometimes. Welcome!

[dav7z]

for every 1 Carolina fan that buys a ticket theres 3 fans (2 duke, 1 general unc hater) that dont buy

Besides the fact that this statement is total BS - even if there were twice as many dook fans, at least the Carolina fans live close enough to CLT to get to the game by car.

This is a great hire and the Bobcats should be damn happy to have coach Brown. Other coaches in his league unfortunately would not give us the time of day I'm afraid. Especially with jobs like Miami opening up. I wish I lived close enough to go to games a couple time a week.

Welcome to Bobcatsplanet CTown . I agree LARY BROWN wasen't a good hire he is a great hire . Larry is one of the toughest points thet i have ever seen play the game. Yes a top four point guard to EVER play at Carolina . And had the privlidge to learn under the BEST coach of all time. DEAN SMITH . Thats Browns mentor. Dean is all so the mentor of a lot of great coaches ., And had the respect of ever ACC coach i've ever seen. From coach K. TO coach V. to coach Williams. to coach George Carol .
Yes Brown has been around , has seen a lot ,and knows a hell of a lot more. And yes his Carolina blood runs deep. Yes he will get in your face ,"but if you listen you will get a hell of a lot better.
And yes it don't mater what college you went to . If you try ,and bust your ass you can become a star under Larry Brown.

[CMc$]

As a Carolina fan I cringe every time another Carolina name is brought into the Bobcats fold. While I enjoy seeing some of my favorite guys in Charlotte, it sets up the organization for widespread ridicule and it cheapens the franchise to those who don't have the Carolina love.

I'm not the kind of fan who lurks around opposing teams boards because I can't stand the Carolina haters, so with every Unc guy they bring on I get to hear more and more anti-carolina sentiment.

I just hope we don't draft Hansbrough next year. He is the Carolina equivalent of JJ Redick to ABCers and the hate would flow like crazy.

Back on topic. This LB deal is such a colossal step up from Sammy McBiscuits that great things should happen. I don't want to get too far ahead though. There's a long time before any of us will have any indication on just what sort of impact this might have. I'm hoping and praying that I get to go to the 1st Bobcats playoff game next year!

[timang]

Winnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!

[tamburello]

Our staff is also due for a huge change. Two names are already mentioned as Brown's assistants: Dave Hanners from Knicks and Herb Williams. No matter for me unless he hires his bro, Herb Brown. I don't want to see these relative staffs anymore (remembering JB)

Also this article says that Bernie will be the top assistant of Mark Jackson in New York.


Brown likely will pluck Knicks assistant Dave Hanners for his coaching staff and possibly longshot Knicks candidate Herb Williams. Bobcats advisor Bernie Bickerstaff could head to the Knicks as Mark Jackson's top assistant. Brown worked for Donnie Walsh, who was his UNC teammate, in Indiana.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302008/sports/knicks/brown__from_err_to_air_108716.htm

[Alex]

I can already imagine Bernie trying to motivate those low lifes that the Knicks have on their roster. Should be great.

[Muttley]

I can already imagine Bernie trying to motivate those low lifes that the Knicks have on their roster. Should be great.

He may not be a good coach, but if anyone can motivate some lowlifes it's him.

[TheBeagle]

Why would Bernie go from having a title and being able to watch our games from his perch at the Arena, to an assistant coaching job? Not only to the Knicks, but anywhere. Seems like a major step down to me. If that does happen, I'll miss him, and I imagine some of the players (i.e. Crash) will too. But, like they say, this is a business, so Bernie's gotta do what he's gotta do.

[timang]

I can already imagine Bernie trying to motivate those low lifes that the Knicks have on their roster. Should be great.

maybe that's the reason why they wanted him there.