Detroit Pistons Buying Out Larry Brown Contract

July 18, 2005

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After nearly a year of speculation, Pistons president Joe Dumars has announced that the team will buy out the remainder of Larry Brown’s contract.

Pistons, Brown close to buyout of coaching contract (ESPN)

After back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals under Larry Brown, the Detroit Pistons will have a new coach next season. Pistons president Joe Dumars told ESPN that the team and Brown are in ongoing talks for a buyout of Brown’s contract, which has three years left at an estimated $18 million.

Dumars added that Brown’s staff has been told that the talks are ongoing. No one has been fired or dismissed. There was no immediate word whether the buyout would contain any stipulations that would prevent Brown from coaching another team for this upcoming season.

Dumars added that ex-Minnesota coach Flip Saunders, who turned down a lucrative offer from Milwaukee while waiting for the months-long Brown saga to reach a climax, is the leading candidate to replace Brown in Detroit but has yet to interview with the Pistons.

Quite bizarre. Brown is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, coaches in the NBA. Yet he seems unable to keep a job for long.

2 responses to “Detroit Pistons Buying Out Larry Brown Contract”

Bill Quick

July 19, 2005 at 6:29 am

Yet he seems unable to keep a job for long.

Brown is one of the best ever to coach basketball. He is also rumored to be one of the most arrogant men alive.
Eric Lee

July 20, 2005 at 8:03 pm

I commend Joe Dumars for making such a decisive move. Larry Brown is a great coach, but talking about New York as his ‘dream job’ and talking with the Cavaliers about a head office position while his team is deep in the play offs is just not professional. Letting that type of behavior persist would erode the team-first ecosystem that Joe Dumars has carefully assembled.