Larry Brown says that his record ninth NBA head-coaching job has gone "better than expected." He has reshaped the Charlotte Bobcats, worked well with managing partner Michael Jordan and is happy to be back after a two-year coaching exile.
But he's far from satisfied, as evidenced by the needle he had out in assessing his players yesterday.
From saying that Emeka Okafor needs to go from "getting an A in stretching to getting an A in basketball" to needing to "deprogram" Vladimir Radmanovic to offering that DeSagana Diop was in poor condition, Brown gave his players a long offseason to-do list.
"Sitting watching other people coach, I realized how much I missed it and how fortunate I've been," Brown, 68, said about his return. "This has been better than I expected. But that being said, you want to make sure that you're making a difference."
Although Brown said he misses his wife and children, who still live in Philadelphia, he seems energized to improve on the 35-47 record Charlotte had this season.
"I'm a little disappointed," Brown said. "We had a lot of winnable games at the end that we just fell short for some reason.... The playoffs are starting, and we're not involved, and that was our goal."
Brown has a wish list for next season's bid to make the playoffs. He wants another shooting guard to complement Raja Bell, wants the Bobcats to cut down on turnovers and rebound better and wants Jordan to re-sign point guard Raymond Felton, an impending restricted free agent.
"I know Michael's values are the same as mine. So when you look at Raymond, I would feel pretty confident Michael admires what he's about," Brown said. "From my perspective, and I told Michael this, I'd love for him to be here."
Brown spent the rest of the 45-minute session with reporters offering insights into his roster. He saved most of the praise for Gerald Wallace. Nearly traded on draft night, Wallace developed into one of Brown's favorites.
"Guys like him have allowed me to coach in this league, athletic guys that have grit," Brown said. He gives everything he can every single night, and I think his upside is incredible."
Brown stressed that he expects Wallace to improve even more. He expects the same of Okafor, who last year signed a six-year, $72 million contract. Okafor averaged 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, but still struggles to finish around the basket.
"I tease him that he's got an A in stretching and pilates and yoga. I want him to have an A in basketball," Brown said.
At the other end of the fitness spectrum are Diop and Sean May. Brown told Diop, acquired from Dallas in January, that he needs to get fit. May's weight, conditioning and bum knee have been topics for four seasons. But now that his contract is up, Brown signaled that the Bobcats might try to re-sign May, the 13th pick in the 2005 draft who has played in only 85 of a possible 328 games.
"Michael told me he didn't know what to do about him," Brown said. "But he's an asset. I'm hopeful it'll work out because he's a great kid."
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