Saunders succeeds Brown as Pistons coach

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Detroit Pistons hired Flip
Saunders as head coach Thursday in place of Larry Brown, who
led the team to the NBA title last year.

“I look at this as a great opportunity and a great
challenge,” Saunders told a news conference at The Palace in
Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The 50-year-old Saunders was fired as coach of Minnesota in
February after the club stumbled to a 25-26 start. He had a
411-326 record in nine and a half seasons with the
Timberwolves.

“When you’ve been in the league for 10 years, you have an
opportunity to evaluate organizations, evaluate teams,” he
said.

“There’s no question that the tradition Detroit has, the
success they’ve had, they are one of the premier teams in the
league.”

Saunders will have a tough act to follow in replacing the
well-traveled Brown.

The Pistons finalized their severance agreement with Brown
Tuesday, buying him out of the remaining three years left on
his five-year deal.

Throughout last season, Brown insisted he would return to
the Pistons if he was healthy enough to coach in 2005-06, with
Detroit saying they would be happy to welcome him back.

But negotiations broke down earlier this week with the club
opting to release him.

Brown, who led Detroit to Eastern Conference championships
in 2004 and 2005, underwent hip replacement surgery that led to
a problem with his bladder and has been resting at home for the
past several weeks.

RIGHT SITUATION

Saunders said: “I made a decision…that I was going to
wait and get into the right situation to walk into and have an
opportunity to win, and win big, and that’s what we have here
in Detroit.

“When people talk about the Pistons, they talk about
players that play like they have a chip on their shoulder. As a
coach, that’s what you want. You want players who have that
passion.”

Saunders signed a four-year contract worth, according to
media reports, between $4 million and $5 million per season.

According to media reports, the 64-year-old Brown is going
to meet with the New York Knicks to discuss their head coaching
vacancy.

Brown has previously coached franchises in Philadelphia,
Indiana, Los Angeles (Clippers), San Antonio, New Jersey and
Denver. The Knicks are reported to be offering him more than
$10 million a year to lead their team.

Saunders replaces a coach who posted a 108-56 record in two
seasons with the team but Detroit’s president of basketball
operations Joe Dumars said he was not worried.

“This guy (Saunders) has a great track record,” Dumars
said. “It was really a no-brainer for us.”