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New Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown and
Managing Member of Basketball Operations
Michael Jordan.

Larry Brown
(On the toughest challenges you will face)
The biggest challenge I think for a coach today is to get the players to understand the difference between coaching and criticism. I get the feeling and I’ve done this a long time, that if players know you care about them and if you’re out there every day trying to make them better, they give you everything they have. I’m confident we have a bunch of people like that. We have a young team and the East has gotten better. Who would have expected Philly to be 2-2 with Detroit and Atlanta to be 2-2 with Boston? The league’s getting better. I think when you coach on the NBA level now, it’s almost like being a college coach. You have to develop the people you have. You have to coach them up so to speak. I think if we can assemble a staff and show these kids that we care, we’ll get better pretty quickly.

(On how this opportunity presented itself)
Michael called me. How are you going to say no to Michael? I’ve known him for a long time and obviously I’ve admired him like everybody else. The things he stands for made our game better and there’s no way I could have said no to him, so it was a pretty easy decision once my wife said yes.

Michael Jordan
(On presenting this opportunity to Larry)
That is a great answer. His wife was the person I felt like I should have been talking to a year ago when we had this discussion. At that time he felt like he couldn’t move because he was just leaving the situation in New York. We did have a quick conversation at that time, but he just didn’t feel ready. This time when I called, he was ready. I was very happy for that. I think Shelly did a lot of the convincing. I think Larry has been wanting to get back into coaching and I’m very happy she finally said yes to me and to this program. I think they are both looking forward to it as much as I am.

Larry Brown
(On how much influence he will have on personnel decisions)
I evaluate players. Being in Philly, the last two years, I’ve gotten to watch a lot of games and watch other people coach. I’ve learned a great deal. Players that I like sometimes other people can’t see their values. I think one problem we have in the NBA is that people talk about things guys can’t do. I don’t buy into that. I’m a defensive-minded coach. I like guys with character and toughness. I’ll take that over ability anytime. I’m going to let Rod (Higgins), Buzz (Peterson) and Michael know my thoughts about the players, but ultimately the decision is Michael’s. I’m confident I’m going to have input, but I think I’d be silly not to value his knowledge. We have the same goals. We came from the same kind of background. I think it will be easy to understand what we both like.

(On if he’s tough on his point guards)
That’s pretty accurate. The man I learned to play this game from is in Chapel Hill and there’s another pretty good point guard in this building, I think Phil Ford’s around. Coach had a way of breaking you down and building you up. I think the point guard has to be an extension of the coach. I think the players need someone out on the court that they can count on and depend on for leadership, so I think it’s important you train that guy to handle situations. I’m pretty blunt and honest with guys, but ultimately they know I care about them and they know I want them to be better. Most of the point guards I’ve been around have responded pretty well. I hope I’m not unfair with them. Most of the time when I criticize, it’s because I expect a lot from those guys. I’d rather have a coach that expects a great deal from a player than is just satisfied.

(On if he plans on staying in Charlotte)
Let my wife answer that. If you don’t know already, I’m 67. When I look in the mirror I see that, but inside I don’t feel that. I started in North Carolina in 1972 coaching a team called the Carolina Cougars, that was my first head coaching job. I think Michael realized this and said ‘If you started in ’72 coaching the Cougars, why don’t you end coaching the Bobcats?’ He didn’t put a particular time frame on that. I’m confident this is going be a place I’m going to be around for a long time.

Michael Jordan
(On what Larry Brown brings to this team)
I think his teaching skills. I think his credibility speaks for itself. I think when you look at our roster, our roster is pretty good. When you look at what Atlanta’s doing and what Philly’s doing, I’m very envious, I think (he will benefit the team) in terms of taking what we have and utilizing that and creating a structured system where we can all benefit collectively, not just individually. I think his teaching skills are going to be the biggest asset these young kids have, not to diminish what they’ve gotten thus far. He’s just going to embellish on what’s been given so far. It’s going to make us a little quicker in responding, particularly in game situations. I felt like our team did not respond in game situations last year and it was a big downfall for us.

Larry Brown
(On his plans for his coaching staff)
When Michael and I talked that was a factor. He wanted me to consider the people that were here out of respect to them. I learned this lesson and I don’t want anybody to take this the wrong way. I can teach any coach all of the knowledge I have been taught from all the great coaches I’ve had, but I can’t teach them to care about me. The most important thing to me is loyalty. When we select a staff, I want guys that care about the players, care about the team and love to teach the game, but I think I have to have a relationship with them. When I went to Detroit, Coach Smith hired my staff. If you remember, Phil Ford, Dave Hanners and Pat (Sullivan) all lost their jobs, so I got this call from this man in Chapel Hill that said, ‘Larry, you’re hiring Phil Ford, Dave Hanners and Pat Sullivan.’ That was okay. Now he’s going to let me do it. I guarantee I’ve had 200 calls in the last 24 hours about guys that want to coach here and be involved with Michael and Bob and this franchise. We’re going to assemble a staff that I think is going to be pretty darn solid.

(On what excites him about this opportunity)
We won a championship in Detroit my first year, so I kind of liked that. That was a pretty neat thing to do. If I could find a situation like that it would probably appeal to me, but again, I like coaching young kids. I was a college coach for quite a while. I think I approach pro coaching the same way I did as a college coach. I try to go to practice each day and teach. The thing that excites me obviously are the people that are up here that I’m going to be working for. I love the roster because It’s a bunch of young kids that I really feel like want to get better and want some direction and I agree with what Michael said. They’ve been coached. They were coached under Bernie (Bickerstaff) and they were coached under Sam (Vincent). I just want to take it to another level. I want the players to understand that every day we go to practice we are learning situations. It’s important that we work harder than everybody else because the opportunity is so great. When Michael mentioned Atlanta and Philly, it’s no accident those teams won. They have great coaching, they have kids that play hard and are committed to winning. I think our guys have the same things.

(On if his experience in New York soured him on coaching)
How could you be 23-59 and sour on the coaching? I did a bad job. That was our record. I think Michael takes your body of work into consideration. That made me feel good. This game has been great to me. Being out of it for two years, it was the first time in my life, I got to watch other people coach. Being a pro coach, everybody comes to you and watches you, but I was out of it for two years. I went all over the country, to colleges and watched guys that had worked under me that were now head coaches, watched people I had admired from afar and I got to see them work. I realized I love this game. I can’t be away from it. I miss going to the gym. I missed being around my assistant coaches. I missed being around the players. It didn’t sour me, it disappointed me because of the job that I did. Now I’m fortunate to have another opportunity and I want to do better.

Michael Jordan
(On if firing Sam Vincent and hiring Larry Brown were independent decisions or if they were related)
It was two independent (decisions). My decision with Sam was based on my evaluations of the season, not that I had had any conversations with Larry. At the time I made the decision, my staff and I made a short list of guys that we considered would be good replacements after we came to the conclusion that this shoe isn’t fitting for this foot in terms of what Sam was doing with this team. That was all based on my evaluations with the players and over the course of the season. Then we looked at possible solutions and he (Larry) was at the top of the list because we had this conversation the year before, but because of family issues he was not at the point to be ready to do that. When I made that phone call on Saturday morning it was something worthy of the conversation between he and I and Shelly. Once I got from that conversation that his eagerness to get back into coaching was there, it was an easy transition. Once I went to Bob and said we have this scenario where we have a competitive situation right now in terms of getting this coach who can take what we have and take it to another level, Bob said go do it. That’s exactly what we did.

Larry Brown
(On if he expected to be contacted by the Bobcats)
I resigned earlier in the week (from Philadelphia) because I was interviewing for some other jobs. There was a college job I almost took, but it wasn’t the right fit at that time for our family. I had no idea what was going to happen after I resigned. I just thought it was fair if you’re talking to other people about the possibility of coaching, I thought it was only fair that I resigned. When Michael called me I didn’t have to think about it. As long as Shelly was on board, it was an easy decision to make. If I could have made it last year, I would have made it last year, but I don’t think we were ready for that. To be in a position, where it would happen again, I feel pretty fortunate.

Michael Jordan
(On Larry’s contract)
Shelly played hard ball. It wasn’t Larry. Larry wanted to coach. Shelly wanted to make a business decision. It was a very fair offer. Obviously, we won’t discuss the offer in terms of the contract, but it is a four-year contract. We expect him to be here four years. I’m happy. Shelly’s happy and Larry’s happy. We’re a happy family.

Larry Brown
(On if players aren’t as receptive to coaching now as in the past)
We had this discussion in Michael’s office with Bob and myself. Bob asked me the very same question. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I haven’t found many kids that I’ve had the opportunity to coach that didn’t accept coaching and didn’t want to get better. I think that’s a misnomer. I think our league is in a renaissance so to speak. We have so many great young players coming into the league in the last three or four years. You’re seeing better teams now, the competition is better. The players are so exciting. We have quality kids. The one thing I did find is that we’re getting them younger. When I played, we had a freshman team and then three years of varsity and then if you were good enough you went to the pros and the first couple of years, you sat on the bench and learned the trade. Now, we’re getting kids who are 19 or 20 years old, who don’t go four years of school, who aren’t coached every single day and it’s not their fault, so I think when Michael talked to me about coming here, he said the biggest challenge for you now, is that you have young players and you have to make them better and you have to coach them every day. That’s what I love and the people who have worked with me love that. I really believe kids will be receptive to that. You can’t fool them. If you don’t know this game, they know you’re a fraud. If they know you’re trying to help them get better, they give you everything they possibly have. I feel so fortunate to be involved in this sport and coaching on this level. You’re one of 30 guys, coaching at the highest level. It doesn’t get any better than that. I feel for Sam. Obviously, I’ve gone different places and I’ve always had to replace coaches. Unfortunately that’s part of our job, but I respect the guys that I follow and I respect anybody that’s had the opportunity to coach at this level.

(On if he missed conducting practices more than the actual games)
I didn’t miss the games. Games are painful. I enjoy the challenge of a game. Like Michael said, college is different. You get a lead, you hold the ball, you win the game. In the pros, every timeout you are making adjustments. Every substitution the other team makes, you have to make an adjustment. That’s fun. I always used to worry that I didn’t prepare these guys for things they might encounter in the game and that was the hard part for me. But practice...practice, why am I talking about practice? I love that kid (Allen Iverson) by the way. I do, because every time he laced up his shoes, he was trying to win a game and that’s an unbelievable thing for a coach to have. I do enjoy going to practice every day and teaching things that I was taught. I said this earlier, in my background, I’ve had unbelievable coaches that have cared enough about me to challenge me and demand things of me that I didn’t think I could accomplish myself. That’s my opportunity every single day to go to practice and let those players know that I care enough about them that I want to make them the best that they can be. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. If they know you love it, if they know you’re engaged in it, they are going to give you a lot back, so that’s basically where I’m at.