Would I want Larry Brown ba...

Would I want Larry Brown coaching the Sixers?

This answer is the easiest for me, as it doesn't worry about him gutting the team and mortgaging its future. My answer as to whether I would want him coaching the Sixers is "are you kidding me? Of course!"

When you look at how he's turned the Bobcats into a defensive juggernaut you can't help but salivate at what he could do with a lineup featuring a great on the ball defender (Jrue Holiday), a great shotblocker to anchor the defense (Samuel Dalembert) and an elite wing defender (Andre Iguodala). The results would be astounding.

Larry Brown might be able to win 45 games with this team next year, with absolutely no personnel changes. That's the difference between a hall of fame coach and one of the worst coaches in the league. With the exception of the Knicks (and, honestly, coaching for an Isiah Thomas led club was doomed from the start), Larry Brown wins everywhere he goes. He makes mediocre teams relevant, good teams contenders, and as he showed in Detroit, when he has championship level talent he's capable of winning a championship.

Besides, this is the coach who is at least partly responsible for the Sixers last three NBA finals teams (as the head coach of the 2001 Finals team and as the head coach who traded Bobby Jones to the Sixers all those years ago).

Larry Brown the teacher

The second major benefit to hiring Larry Brown is his reputation as a teacher, particularly with point guards. With a team this young, and with reportedly high character, hard working, coach-able guys like Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young, this benefit honestly cannot be overlooked. We're talking about a 19 and 21 year old, and getting the most out of them (particularly on the defensive end) in future years is crucial.

Holiday, in my opinion, already displays solid defensive fundamentals, but there's always room for improvement if he has the right teacher and is willing to work. Young, on the other hand, could benefit the most. Even during his defensive struggles (and I think he's improved in the last 2-3 weeks on that end of the court), he always seems to hustle. He also has the length to cause some havoc. He's not great at moving his feet defensively, but with proper technique, stance and anticipation, he should be able to at least be an average defender. I think Larry Brown would do wonders for him.

Of course, that assumes Brown wouldn't trade away youth for a shot to win now....

How long until Larry Brown leaves?

Larry Brown has a (well deserved) reputation as a nomad, always on the lookout for the next great opportunity, and always threatening to leave and coach high school basketball and smell his kids. Before coaching the Sixers he had never stayed anywhere more than 4 years, and since leaving the Sixers he hasn't stayed anywhere more than 2. He publicly campaigned for the Knicks job while coaching the Pistons in the playoffs.

Larry Brown's age (he'll turn 70 before next season) only makes the situation worse. You have to be prepared to lose Brown after 2 seasons. From a coaching standpoint, I would be fine with that, as if nothing else that's two years of development Young and Holiday get under a great teacher. Where it gets tricky is how much control over player/personnel decisions he wants, and whether you want to give that up to a coach who isn't here for the long haul.

Player/Personnel responsibilities

Flat out, I don't want Larry Brown in control of the drafting process. Tony DiLeo has done a wonderful job in this department, and I want him to remain in control. Brown's past track record (Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce, Speedy Claxton who couldn't play next to Iverson, even Augustin at #9 with Charlotte) only exacerbates the necessity to keep Brown away from the draft.

Furthermore, I don't want Brown to have the ability to trade draft picks. A first round pick for Jerome Moiso? Are you kidding me?

(only to be traded 3 months later as part of the package to get Derrick Coleman).

What about trades? Brown gets a lot of grief over some of his trades, but by and large during his tenure here two things happened:
1) Who we traded away didn't come back to bite us.
2) We improved as a team.

That second part is particularly true leading up to the finals run. Afterwards I felt like Brown was looking for that one piece to push them over the top, and took a few gambles that ended up not working out.

The Stackhouse trade was not popular at the time, yet in retrospect it is viewed nearly unanimously as a win. I remember being livid over the Larry Hughes trade, yet Hughes never lived up to the immense hype he had generated.

Larry Brown also has a tendency to have the "grass is always greener" approach to flawed players, seeing a player for his assets while he plays elsewhere then seeing him for his warts when he sees him up close and personal. That being said, after Brown gets an up close view to evaluate talent, I generally feel he's good in his assessment. The problem is falling in love with flawed players on other teams/potential draftees.

Perhaps more importantly, teams crafted by Larry Brown fit together. For years the Sixers have been a team where the end result is less than the sum of the parts, and the opposite is generally true on Larry Brown crafted teams. Yes, talent wins, but that talent needs to form a cohesive group.

I would have no problem giving Larry Brown the keys to the GM responsibilities if I had even a tiny amount of faith he would be here long term. Given his age and track record, the concern of him gutting the team to win now is very real. I would give him a say in player/personnel decisions, just not the final say.

Larry Brown doesn't play young players

A statement that's made quite a bit, but doesn't necessarily hold up. He rode a young Danny Manning to back-to-back playoff appearances in the early 90's. He started a second year player (Prince) on a championship team in Detroit, and played another second year player in Okur over 20 minutes per game. He played a 20 year old Larry Hughes 20 minutes per game here with the Sixers. He played a rookie point guard (DJ Augustin) 26 minutes per game last year in Charlotte, and played a rookie Channing Frye 24 minutes per game in NY (along with David Lee, also a rookie, and Trevor Ariza, a second year player, in the regular rotation).

The type and mentality of a player is more relevant than experience or age.

What players would thrive under Brown (and be shipped out)?

The obvious beneficiaries are Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young, who I already mentioned above. Both are young, mold-able kids with strong work ethics. There is a slight worry that Brown could get frustrated with young and his current defensive weaknesses, but I think Young's work ethic would probably keep him around.

Iguodala, Brand and to a lesser extent Dalembert would all likely thrive under Brown as well, and I could see Jason Smith and Willie Green remaining in the rotation.

Players I would be worried would enter the doghouse? Marreese Speights is the most likely candidate, followed closely by Louis Williams. If I'm looking at players potentially traded for veteran role players, those are the guys I view as most likely.

Would you want Larry Brown back as coach? In what capacity? Discuss below.