Brown Out

Is anyone else wondering if Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown is losing it? Seems the coach has gone mentally AWOL since the brawl. During his interview on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, Brown sounded like a guy ready to walk away. Not that Brown walking away from a coaching gig is anything new. It's his trademark.

Right now, I really don't care if Brown quits tonight. Not that I don't care about Larry Brown, the person. I do. I am, however, growing increasingly weary of Coach Brown the lamenter. He's not happy with his team's play. He's not happy with the league. He's not happy with the officials. He's not happy about three point field goals. He's upset about the Olympic experience.

Brown seems to spend an inordinate amount of time lamenting his sport and his job in it. This all begs the question I am sure Coach Brown asks himself daily. "Why are you here, again?".

I realize Brown has had an exceptionally emotional year. He coached in Detroit while his family stayed in the Philadelphia area all of last year. He won a championship. He was the Olympic basketball coach, what used to be a great honor, only to see that get blown up in his face. He had hip surgery. He came back to see the brawl, has had to endure his child becoming afraid to attend the game he has taught forever and watch his championship team struggle to play .500 hoops.

That enough to make even the most calm people a little edgy. For an emotional person like Brown, it must be almost unbearable. However, for a guy who has dedicated his life to the game and who has moved around as much as Brown has, you would think some of this would be less stressful. However, Brown is clearly distraught.

I wonder if his disenchantment is wearing off on his team? What I don't wonder about is Larry Brown's future. He will leave the Pistons at season's end. That's, of course, assuming he makes it that long. At the current rate of his frustration, I have doubts he will make it past the All-Star break. For his own sake, maybe that's best.