Larry Brown: Mike Woodson Hasn't Been 'Treated Fairly' By Knicks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Larry Brown is not exactly pleased with how the Knicks have treated head coach Mike Woodson.
And he's not keeping his frustrations to himself.
"I'm sick about what's happening with Michael (Woodson)," the Hall of Famer said on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday morning. "The whole thing about the Knicks, I want the Knicks to be great, because the NBA needs it badly. They have the best fans. (But) the way they've treated Mike Woodson, I think he went 15-5 when he took over that team two years ago.
"And then last year they won 54 games. I think from 2001 they might have won one playoff series. He's done a remarkable job. They've had terrible injuries. They lost a GM (Glen Grunwald) that I thought did a great job. And then they didn't bring any older guys. When you lose Jason Kidd and Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace, you lost your locker room."
Owner James Dolan wanted Phil Jackson to take over as head coach of the team earlier this season, but the 68-year-old declined. On March 18, he was named the organization's president.
Brown believes that hiring Jackson to serve in a front-office capacity was a mistake.
"I think it's just troublesome to me to bring in Phil Jackson," Brown told the radio station. "Not that he won't be great, but let him coach. You're not going to make the Knicks better by living in L.A. and being there half the time and not talking to your coach. Let him coach. He was the best coach, probably ever. Let him coach. If that's the way they want to do it, let him coach and give Woody a way to leave graciously.
"But he's out on the limb and that's not fair. For a guy that really turned that franchise around and made people proud of the way they played, I don't think he's been treated fairly. And that really bothers me."
The 'Bockers' playoff hopes took a major hit this weekend. New York lost to the Wizards and the Heat while the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers and the Pacers.
New York is two games behind Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining on its schedule.
Woodson is not expected to be retained by the Knicks for next season.
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