Madison Square Garbage

The question wasn't whether or not Larry Brown would be dismissed as coach of the New York Knicks. The question was how it would occur. Would he be bought out of his contract, or would he be fired?

In effect, the past month has been a standoff between Brown and Knicks management, with Brown not willing to give up any part of the $40 million New York owes him and the team hoping to get some kind of discount. A week before the draft, the Knicks blinked first, firing Brown and moving on with their business. Isiah Thomas takes over as head coach, while Brown goes home to think about his next job and cash a series of very large checks the next four years.

For New York, it is the latest in a series of expensive mistakes. Owner James Dolan not only presides over the biggest payroll in the history of the league – approximately $125 million last season (there's not much bang for Dolan's buck, considering the team won only 23 games) – but he'll also be paying three coaches for not working next season: Brown, Lenny Wilkens and Don Chaney. The man who Dolan has given the blank checkbook to – Thomas – now has the ironic task of coaching the mismatched roster he put together.

Poetic justice, perhaps? Thomas and Brown disagreed over the merits of many of the players on the team – most notably Stephon Marbury – and ultimately the lack of harmony between Thomas, Brown and the players led to Brown's exit. Now it's up to Thomas to try to make it work.

Undoubtedly, Marbury will be relieved, as will many of the other players on the roster who grew tired of the constant drama involving Brown and Thomas. But the reality is this: Thomas' mess is now his own, and if he doesn't turn the Knicks around quickly, he'll be the next to go. He does have previous coaching experience – with Indiana from 2000 to 2002 – but his performance was inconsistent at best, leading a talented Pacers team to a 131-115 record.

Brown is recognized as one of the best coaches of all time, but his reputation has been stained the last two years with his ugly departures from both Detroit and New York. (In fact, the Pistons are still paying Brown as part of a $7 million buyout from a year ago, so Brown is now being paid huge dollars from two teams). The fact that Brown's last two gigs ended so poorly will surely throw up a red flag with teams that may consider hiring him. Speculation is that Golden State – which is owned by Brown's friend Chris Cohan – may want to replace Mike Montgomery with Brown, but if that's the case, the Warriors will have to think long and hard before handing over the keys to a vagabond coach.

The bottom line is that the only person who wins in this ugly affair is Brown's accountant. He'll be able to add a boatload of money to Brown's vault, but will do so at the expense of his client's reputation. Thomas and Dolan don't exactly come out smelling like roses, either. At least the Knicks can move on and are free to head in a new direction, even if nobody seems to know where that might be.