Report: Brown, Knicks Close To Buyout Deal

NEW YORK--Is Larry Brown close to leaving the New York Knicks? Knicks president Isiah Thomas told ESPN today that the team and Brown are in ongoing talks for a buyout of his contract, which has five years and approximately $50 million left on it. Brown reportedly told Thomas he was tired of coaching the group of underachievers and wanted to continue his career elsewhere.

His agent, however, said that talks of a buyout were premature and that nothing had been decided yet.

“We’re still in negotiations here. To say that Larry is definitely leaving the Knicks would be premature,” Joe Glass told reporters this morning. “Larry remains tremendously interested in the Knicks and is still involved in the day-to-day operations of the team. If a buyout does occur, and I’m not saying it will, you guys will be the first to know. Remember, Larry signed a contract with this team, and he doesn't take that kind of thing lightly.”

There is no word on whether the buyout will contain stipulations preventing Brown from coaching another team this year, but those who know Brown said he expects to field offers as early as next week. Glass, again, was noncommittal

“I told you, all of this talk is premature. As of today, Larry Brown is the coach of the New York Knicks. Could that change? Sure, anything can change. If he does leave the team, it’s possible that he could go somewhere else. It’s possible that it could be Cleveland, and that it could happen next Wednesday after they fire their coach to make room for him and offer him a four-year, $43.5 million contract. But again, this is all very premature. He could end up staying right here for at least another week or so.”

Sources within the Knicks organization say that Brown has been frustrated with his team’s inability to play defense and spread the ball out on offense. The younger players on the team are not catching on fast enough, and veterans like Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford can’t seem to break out of their bad habits.

The situation came to a head on Friday when Brown lashed out at his team during practice and stormed out of the building, leaving them to finish the practice on their own. Afterward, the coach addressed reporters.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the way this team is carrying itself,” Brown said. “It’s a wonder they won any games at all last year. I’m getting tired of it. Sometimes I think it’s just time for me to move on. Honestly, the only thing keeping me here right now is my deeply ingrained sense of loyalty. It might sound old-fashioned, but that's just the way I was brought up. ”

Brown went on to describe the team’s myriad of problems.

“Let’s see: Marbury is a great player, but he just has too many bad habits. Eddy Curry seems awfully slow to me. Malik Rose is Malik Rose. And Jamal Crawford, he needs to learn to pass the ball. I don’t know how to get through to the guy. Like today in practice, I wanted to demonstrate something to the team, so I asked Jamal to toss me the ball. He refused to do it. I asked him again, and he just shook his head. Over and over I asked him, but he steadfastly refused to pass it to me. As far as I know he’s still holding on to it. That’s a problem.”

When questioned about their coach’s possible exit, many Knicks players said they weren’t surprised. Brown’s frustration has been building since the start of training camp and he's not optimistic about the team’s long term prospects.

“We all know that coach Brown is frustrated right now,” said Marbury. “It’s tough for him because he’s used to coming from a winning system and this team is just inexperienced and a little hapless. We all know he’s not the kind of guy to stay in one place. Plus, our front office did put that stipulation in his deal saying he can leave whenever he wants and still get paid his full salary. I thought that was a pretty savvy move at the time. Who knew it would backfire?”

Center Jerome James, who signed a 5-year contract in the offseason to play with Brown, said he was looking forward to playing for the legendary coach and would be "extremely disappointed" if he left.

“I would be really pissed if he left at this point," James said. “I came to this team because I wanted to play with coach Brown. Me and him were gonna win a championship together, man. We were gonna take over the world! If he leaves now we'll never have that chance. It's depressing, really. And you know what I do when I'm depressed, don't you? I eat. Donuts, cake, cookies, anything I can get my hands on. I'm going to balloon up like a blimp. I'm just thankful that I have a multi-year contract now so it doesn't really matter.”