Oak says hiring a new staff is like taking your car through the wash while LeBron thinks the NBA is watered down.
Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan decided to make a change and after a "meeting" with head coach Larry Brown, the 70-year-old Hall of Fame coach decided to "step down". Jordan has made plenty of decisions as a personnel man in Charlotte and Washington that have resulted in some great debates.
So, is this another one?
Knowing that Brown is a coaching "lifer" it's really hard to see him walking away from the game, particularly a challenge that he has managed to overcome in just about every place he has coached and that's putting together a playoff team regardless of the pieces he's given. But there are some that say in this instance, Brown did not quit.
Paul Silas is in as the interim head coach and that is great news as he deserves another chance to lead an NBA team. Silas held the Charlotte Hornets team together after the tragic death of Bobby Phills. Maybe it was because he was a youngster in the league but Silas sure got the best out of Baron Davis.
Silas has already started to change the players' attitudes with a new style of play. He is trying to put the fun back in the game for players. But fun aside, Silas has a tough job and it will be interesting to see if he can get the Hornets back to the playoffs and past the first round which is undoubtedly what Jordan has in mind. Remember, it’s always more fun when you win.
Silas has hired former NBA player Charles Oakley as one of his assistants and Oakley was asked about coaching today's generation of players and was his usual outspoken, tell-it-like-he-sees-it self when chatting about his new position.
In a radio interview with broadcast partner Eric Smith and myself, Oak took today's generation of basketball to task and vowed that he would do his best to turn back the clock in Charlotte.
One thing is for sure: Oakley will tell players what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
Whenever a Collective Bargaining Agreement is negotiated -- in any walk of employment -- it tests the resolve and solidarity of its union's members. We've heard in pro sports that, at times, the mega-stars are willing to sacrifice the "middle and lower class" members of the rank and file to keep the money, of which they get a major share, coming into the coiffures.
With all the posturing by both sides in the NBA right now as they try to avoid a work stoppage headed toward next summer's deadline of July 1st, you have to believe statements like this from the Miami Heat's LeBron James won't be popular with some of his fellow NBA players.
Some players must surely be wondering if someone on the owners and management side got to James after he hinted to supporting the loss of jobs through contraction.
