Coach Larry Brown thinks he knows why so many good NBA coaches have been fired
Mar 30, 2018; San Antonio, TX, USA; Former basketball coach Larry Brown during the Kansas Jayhawks practice before the Final Four of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Several accomplished head coaches have been fired by NBA teams recently, and Larry Brown has a few thoughts about the reason.
Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams are all coaches who reached the NBA Finals since 2019 (Nurse and Budenholzer won championships) and all have been fired since. The Philadelphia 76ers also fired Doc Rivers, who is accomplished but has been experiencing disappointing playoff exits.
Brown was a guest with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark and offered some thoughts on what’s happening.
Brown believes that teams are full of young players and often lack veteran leadership, and many of the players don’t listen to their coaches. Additionally, he feels like players are calling the shots in many cases.
“So many young kids coming in the league now,” Brown said. “And I look at these benches now and see 15 people all dressed the same. It kind of troubles me. When I was starting out… you could really establish a relationship with the players. Now it’s different. I think so many people are looking out there to try to find somebody young that they think can communicate better with young players. I don’t buy it. I think a lot of people are afraid to coach these guys.”
Brown also believes many players are in charge.
He said some players are making so much “they are kind of running the teams. You can understand that — guys making $40 and $50 million — you’re going to have some say,” Brown said.
With the way NBA teams are firing coaches, the league has become something similar to the SEC with football coaches.
Brown, 82, has been coaching since 1972. He won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004. He has been both an NBA and college coach of the year.
Here is video of the interview:
