Larry Brown takes shots at Jordan, Bobcats; Jordan fires back

[Big Bid'Ness]

Fromrobasketballtalk

So much for keeping everything civil in the Tar Heel family.

Larry Brown was let early last season when it was clear the Charlotte Bobcats were not responding to him. Probably because he told Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace he didn’t think the team had enough talent to compete. (Paul Silas stepped in and has had to deal with even less talent this season.)

Now Larry Brown is back in college, the new head coach at Big East bound Southern Methodist University, and on the Dan Patrick radio show he took some shots at the Bobcats and owner Michael Jordan, reports Rick Bonnell at the Charlotte Observer (via Ball Don’t Lie).

“He’s around people who don’t have a clue.’’

“He had people around me that made me sick.’’

“It was almost like they were spies wondering what we were doing and getting back to him.’’

“A coach, a GM and a president all have to be attached at the hip.’’

The rumors that Jordan has too many “yes” man around him and is an absentee owner have existed for a while. But before you pile these on top of those consider the source — Larry Brown is a basketball nomad who can coach but frustrates and drives front office staff crazy at every stop. Go read the entire Charlotte Observer story and you start to feel bad for former team president Rod Higgens.

Jordan spoke with Bonnell later on Wednesday and said this:

“The idea that people can’t do that is just wrong. Curtis (Polk, team vice chairman) has worked with me for over 20 years and he’s never had a problem telling me, ‘no.’ Rod (Higgins, president of basketball operations) has no problem telling me no. Fred (Whitfield, team president) has no problem telling me ‘no.’ And Rich (Cho, the team’s general manager) is about as direct and candid a person as you’ll ever meet…

“He had a lot of input on whatever we did. I never sidestepped him in making a decision. I gave my advice as a former player. I thought we developed a trust where everyone could share his opinion. I gave my input, but I wasn’t the only one whose opinion counted.

“I didn’t always agree with what he recommended, but I thought that was healthy. The owner, the coach and the general manager should be able to all disagree. I’d like to think that’s the healthiest approach.’’

By bringing in a guy like Rich Cho as GM, Jordan should get some leeway on the idea that everyone in the organization is a yes man. That said, there is also clearly some dysfunction there — you don’t end up on the verge of a historic season of losses without it. Yes, they knew they needed to get worse while rebuilding, but there are problems here.

Jordan says they were not chasing Ping-Pong balls in the lottery, but now they are going to end up with a quarter of them. And if that nets them Anthony Davis, Jordan is going to start looking a lot smarter as an owner. Whether he is or not.