The Hardest Job
One has to pity Mike Brown.
Yes, a multi-million dollar deal to stand around and watch LeBron James may seem like a great deal. It is.
Until you see who the Cavaliers are bringing in as your boss.
To paraphrase Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate: "It's not that Larry Brown is hard to like. He's impossible to like."
Which is not the primary problem with Larry Brown joining the Cavs.
To most fans, most media, and certainly to Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert -- Larry Brown is "the coach" in the NBA. He guided the Pistons to a five game win over Shaq and Kobe, when no one thought it possible. He helped make AI something more than artificial intelligence.
Now Gilbert brings the coach in. Only not to coach.
This may be a health decision. But what makes Brown think he can be a successful team president? And what happens when his health is restored?
For Mike Brown, he better hope he wins. Alot.
Because the second things go poorly, the phones will start ringing, the rumors will start flowing. Could Larry pull a Dallas Green?
Green was in the Philadelphia Phillies' front office until 1980, when he decided he could manage. He could. Philadelphia took home their first (and only) World Series title.
If Brown struggles as a coach, fans will think, the media will think, Dan Gibert will think, and maybe Larry Brown will think he could do better.
And if Larry walks into Dan Gilbert's office one day and says "I want to coach this team," is Gilbert going to say no?
Good luck Mike.