Larry Brown on the Knicks' Terrible 2005-06 Season: "Marbury Was Not Our Problem"

Larry Brown says Stephon Marbury was not the problem during his time with the Knicks.

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The Knicks are currently making their way through what may go down as their worst season in franchise history. So during an interview on CBS Sports Radio's Tiki and Tierney today, former Knicks head coach Larry Brown was asked about another abysmal Knicks' campaign—the one during the 2005-06 NBA season that we "crowned" their worst season ever. The belief back then was that Brown and Knicks star Stephon Marbury couldn't coexist, which was why that team finished 23-59. But Brown admitted that that wasn't actually the case. Instead, he says that it was Marbury's relationship with Isiah Thomas that screwed things up.

"Let me explain something to you," said Brown, now the head coach at SMU. "Marbury was not our problem. That's not fair. Isiah and Marbury were a problem because Marbury and Isiah were connected at the hip, and there was no chance for Stephon to be able to play for me. But he was a good kid and had really no chance [of] being successful the way the dynamics worked out. A coach needs to be able to coach a team and needs the president, the owner, the GM—everybody—to be on the same page. Jim Dolan gave me every chance to be successful, but we didn't have any unity in the way that program was run. And as a result, it struggled."

Brown also revealed that he knew he made a mistake accepting the Knicks' head-coaching job right after taking it. It's why he lasted just one season in New York.

"I wanted to be the Knick coach and do a great job," he said. "I thought our league needed that. I thought the Knicks needed to be relevant in the NBA to help that league. I knew I shouldn't have taken the job when I took it."

Things are bad now, Knicks fans. But believe it or not, they could be worse. At the very least, the Knicks will have a healthy Carmelo Anthony and a quality free agent or two next season. But back in 2006, after the Knicks parted ways with Brown, there was very little hope for the organization moving forward because of all the turmoil surrounding the team. So even through this tough season, you should still count your blessings.

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[via Tiki and Tierney]

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