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Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Sayson: Don’t factor in Brown’s age
By
Homer Sayson
Ssecond Overtime
CHICAGO – Like restless ghosts in the closet, questions about Larry Brown and his future never go away. They just keep coming back, often unexpectedly, and always scaring the bejeebies in us.
That explains why even before Brown could open training camp in his latest coaching assignment, Lyndon Llido (lyndon.llido@gmail.com) is already wondering “do you believe the Knicks would be Brown’s last stop? In my case, yes, I believe so basing on his health and age.”
I don’t know, Lyndon. And in all honesty, I don’t think Larry himself knows, either. I say that because in the July 28 press conference where he was formally announced as the 22nd head coach in the history of the Knicks, Brown joked about how he tends to say one thing and yet do differently.
Still, I’m not speculating on Brown’s future employment based on his age.
That’s because I saw Brown in the 2004 NBA Finals, leading the Pistons in rigid practices days prior to Games 4 and 5.
Having also seen him conduct the same lung-busting sessions in the 2001 NBA Finals in Philadelphia, I can honestly say that the man hasn’t slowed down a bit at 64. Hey, my dad Turday, a retired homicide cop at 63, can still knock out a cow with a short hook. Aging is overrated.
I’m not speculating on Brown’s future employment based on his health, either.
That’s because there is so little I know about his health to make an informed judgment. But even if I did know much about Brown’s health, it would be inappropriate to discuss it here. Brown’s artificial hips and swollen bladder are confidential matters that are best left to him, his doctors, and the New York Knicks.
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS. Neito Racho (neitoraco@yahoo.com) proposed that I become his “partner to broker a real estate business in Panglao, Bohol.”
There is a 24-hectare seashore lot for sale, Racho says, and it’s covered with “fine white sand with sky blue, clear and unpolluted water.” The prized property would be ours for a nifty sum $36.36 per square meter.
Now here’s the tough part. Racho wants me to raise $8,727, 272.60 (P55 exchange rate). And he suggested that I do so through my “close association with moneyed NBA players, you may be able to convince one or a group of them to invest in real estate.”
Neito, I’ve been known to take random flights of entrepreneurial fancy, but your business proposal just gave me the fear of flying. I do, however, admire your chutzpah, asking a complete stranger to raise $8 million.
To discourage future solicitations, let me explain here that the terms of my NBA credentials specifically limit my contact with NBA players to officially-sanctioned activities related to reporting or column-writing.
Therefore, I can only be a journalist. I can talk to any NBA free agent, but I can’t be a real estate agent.
RETOOLED LAKERS? Romy Tangkay (rrtangkay@timex.com) thinks I’m a “genius,” so he wants me to make “predictions and give thoughts about the Lakers now that Phil Jackson is back.” And he wants to know if the Lakers are going to revamp.
With the Zenmaster on board, LA’s definitely going to be better than last year’s woeful 34-48 edition. But it doesn’t really take a genius to know that they are incapable of a revamp.
You see, their payroll last year was $65,138, 976, way over the salary cap, which is currently $49.5 million. Once Kobe’s $136.4 million contract extension kicks in, LA loses more of its financial flexibility. Phil’s three-year $30 million deal doesn’t count against the cap, but $10 million a year is the kind of dough that makes team owner Dr. Jerry Buss leery about writing more fat checks and pay the dreaded dollar-for-dollar luxury tax.
Having said that, the Lakers can change only small parts and pieces here and there. They can’t afford a major overhaul like the Heat did in acquiring Antoine Walker and company in a 13-player mega trade.
(homsay@hotmail.com)
(August 10, 2005 issue)
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