Sam Vincent out as Bobcats coach

Hello Larry Brown?

 

hallelujah.

 

is he black?

 

Maybe Vincent can go back to being Nigerian women's coach.

 

in sticking with tradition, i'm guessing they go with isiah

 

That would be a top notch choice, par for the course, even.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: It's good to see that Jordan/Johnson were man enough to admit their mistake and let Vincent go now vs. trying to get thru a 2nd season. Considering were not that far from being a playoff contender, I saw we should go after Larry Brown 1st and then Paul Silas.


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Bobcats fire Sam Vincent; is Brown interested?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sam Vincent was fired by the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday after one turmoil-filled season as coach.


Part-owner Michael Jordan, who has the final say on all basketball decisions, dismissed Vincent less than a year after he gambled by giving him his first NBA head coaching job.


Struggling to find a consistent rotation and clashing with players, the inexperienced Vincent led the Bobcats to a 32-50 record in a season the fourth-year franchise felt confident would end with its first playoff berth.



"The decision to remove Sam as head coach after just one season was difficult, but it was a decision that had to be made because my first obligation is to do what is in the best interest of our team," Jordan said in a statement.



Attempts to reach Vincent Saturday were unsuccessful. A team spokesman said Vincent planned to wait until Sunday to talk to reporters.



Vincent's ouster means Larry Brown could quickly become a candidate for the job. Brown and Jordan have a history from their ties to North Carolina, and Brown's mother lives in Charlotte.

And the firing came shortly after the Charlotte Observer reported that according to a source close to Brown, the Hall of Fame coach would be willing to discuss the job with the Bobcats should it become available.

The source said Brown had not been contacted by the Bobcats, the Observer reported.

"I'm driving on the turnpike, I'm on the way to celebrate my daughter's [11th] birthday, and there's nothing to talk about," Brown said Saturday morning when reached by ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan.

Brown resigned as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Brown's agent, Joe Glass, refused to discuss the Charlotte job Saturday, but said his client is eager to return to coaching.

"Larry is interested in getting back into coaching in the pros or college," Glass said.

When Bernie Bickerstaff stepped down as coach to take a job in the front office at the end of the 2006-07 season, Jordan said he was looking for a young coach in the mold of Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks.

Vincent, a former first-round pick of the Boston Celtics and Jordan's one-time teammate in Chicago, had worked for one year under Johnson in Dallas, his only NBA coaching experience.

Jordan said he was intrigued by Vincent's international experience. Vincent coached the Nigerian women's national team, and had coaching stints in South Africa, Greece and The Netherlands. Vincent was coaching in the NBA Development League before going to Dallas.

Vincent was given a four-year contract by the Bobcats, but only the first two years were guaranteed.

Vincent entered the job confident, saying on the day he was introduced that he'd be "incredibly discouraged and disappointed" if the Bobcats didn't make the playoffs this season. The Bobcats also significantly increased their payroll by acquiring Jason Richardson in a draft night trade with Golden State and re-signing Gerald Wallace to a big free-agent deal.

But the Bobcats got off to a poor start as Vincent clearly suffered growing pains. He struggled to define roles for players, constantly shuttling Raymond Felton between point guard and shooting guard. Matt Carroll, a 3-point specialist, saw little playing time early in the season. Rookie Jared Dudley also played little.

Vincent constantly switched from small to big lineups and angered players for questioning their effort and commitment in front of reporters. Charlotte was also hampered by the lack of depth in the frontcourt after season-ending knee injuries to Adam Morrison and Sean May.

While majority owner Bob Johnson gave Vincent a vote of confidence late in the season, Jordan was mum on the issue, saying he would decide on Vincent's fate after the season.

Charlotte finished with one fewer win than in 2006-07.

Vincent becomes the second coach to last just one season in Jordan's checkered history as an NBA executive. Leonard Hamilton resigned after going 19-63 with the Washington Wizards in 2000-01.

Jordan was eventually fired by the Wizards. He bought a minority stake in the Bobcats in 2006 and took over the decision-making from Bickerstaff.

But Jordan has failed to produce a playoff team, and now he's looking for a coach for the second straight spring.

The 67-year-old Brown, popular in the area because of his ties to the Tar Heels, could give the struggling franchise a spark. Charlotte ranked 24th out of 30 teams in attendance this season and fans have been slow to warm up to a new team after the Hornets left for New Orleans in 2002.

Brown, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, is one of five NBA coaches with at least 1,000 victories and led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title in 2004. But Brown has had messy divorces from several jobs and has coached eight NBA teams.

He would also likely command a salary much larger than Vincent, who made about $1.5 million this season. Johnson has said he's lost millions on the team since paying $300 million for the expansion franchise.

Brown's first pro coaching job was with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA in 1972-74.

 

Brown or Silas either one would be great imo.

 

gotta wonder why a guy would bail on his team when they're still alive and well in the playoffs. i'm guessing he let folks in charlotte know he was interested or understood they were gonna make a move.

i don't think silas would be interested in the bobcats job -- he's always been the type to insist on autonomy from the front office and my sense is that the front office (jordan) might like to meddle a bit.

 

Didn't originally want Brown last year, but damn he can't be worse than Vincent.