| | PHILADELPHIA -- Apparently, Larry Brown thinks
Philadelphia is more than just a nice place to visit.
The well-traveled coach, who has led the Philadelphia 76ers
back to respectability and contention in the Eastern Conference, despite often clashing with 76ers star Allen Iverson, signed a multi-year extension to stay with the
team on Friday.
|  | | Larry Brown will be yellng at the 76ers for a few more years after signing a contract extension. |
"I'm just happy to be here," Brown said. "My family and I love
the city of Philadelphia, the fans and being part of the 76ers
organization."
"I want to see my kids grow up here ... and I hope that I will be connected with this team for a long time," said Brown, who has coached seven pro franchises and two college teams.
"And certainly, with a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, if they
grow up here, I've got a long way to go."
Brown declined to say how many years the contract was for, but
indicated it was a long-term deal.
"I'm going to be collecting Social Security, I guess," he
said.
He said signing an extension was a big change.
"I don't even think it was in my vocabulary. I didn't even know
what an extension meant," Brown said.
Iverson, suspended for one game by Brown last week after the
scoring star missed a morning shootaround, signed a $70.9 million,
six-year contract in January 1999.
"I'm concerned any time there's past blowups, and I don't want
future ones," Brown said. "But I think we can look forward to
Allen knowing that Larry's going to be here.
"Allen wants to be here and Allen knows the coach is the best
thing for him. And we all have one common goal: We want a
(championship) ring."
Brown, who signed with the Sixers five days after resigning as
coach of the Indiana Pacers on May 5, 1997, was more than
halfway through his original five-year contract with
Philadelphia. Financial terms of the new deal were not
disclosed.
In his 27th season in the professional or collegiate ranks,
Brown holds the distinction of being the lone NBA coach to lead
six different teams to the postseason. He also captured the
NCAA championship with Kansas in 1988.
Brown guided the Sixers to their first playoff berth since 1991
last season and watched his squad pull off a first-round upset
of the Orlando Magic before being swept in the conference
semifinals by Indiana. He has this year's team tied for fourth
place in the East with Toronto at 39-28.
Brown has brought stability to the organization after becoming
the Sixers' fifth coach in six years. He has had several
well-publicized run-ins with Iverson, the latest of which resulted in a one-game suspension
of the high-scoring guard eight days ago for missing practice.
That incident, and Brown's penchant for travel, raised questions
as to whether the two could continue to co-exist in the "City of
Brotherly Love." But Sixers president Pat Croce dispelled all
rumors by extending Brown's contract.
"Our goal has always been to win a championship," Croce said.
"Larry Brown is a winner and a key component of our
organization. We believe he will help us achieve our ultimate
goal."
Brown has never been unemployed at the start of a season despite
eight job changes in a career that began in 1973 with the
Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association.
Brown's all-time NBA coaching record is 722-581. He was 190-138
in four years at Indiana and twice led the Pacers to the Eastern
Conference finals. Brown was 229-107 in four seasons in the
ABA, winning Coach of the Year honors three times, and 177-61 in
seven years at the college level at UCLA and Kansas.
A member of the 1964 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team as a
player, Brown will serve as an assistant coach for the 2000
Olympic squad in Sydney. He was named 1999 USA Basketball
National Coach of the Year after guiding the National Team to
the gold medal in the pre-Olympic Tournament of the Americas.
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