Incident Involving Mo & Tony Brown

[carmelbrownqueen]

^Because Mo has been able to do everything else they have asked him to do in previous seasons.. therefore, it wasn't seen as a lack of desire or ability to defend, but needing to concentrate on doing more defending than previously requested of him. (in their opinion)

[Chapter29]

No bias coming from a guy from "Mo-nation"...I am so sick of this wussy attitude....NO ONE on this Bucks team has earned enough respect where they are bigger then being called out by there coaches in front of there peers. I agree with EVERYTHING that Tony Brown said, Mo is definitely trying, I will give you that, but his decision making skills are not great, he can't pass into the post, and he turns the ball over alot.................He also was eaten alive by a guy on a 10 day contract after the warrior game. I have the free league pass this week and have watched alot of games to see how teams handle the pick and roll...no one figths less through a pick then Mo and I have not seen 1 team who switches every time, thats insane! I believe this is 100% what Woelfel was talking about last night. After a late meeting on Friday, I heard just a small portion of GW on WSSP and he said that he believes that either one or both of the guards will be moved in the offseason, this is a big change from his previous stances.

Insane indeed. Makes me sick watching it. I don't mind a called out switch mind you, but switching on everything lets your opponent get easy mismatches.

The problem is this team cannot defend straight up.

[Chapter29]

What hasn't been mentioned so far is that why is an assistant coach the one bringing this up and not the head coach? That makes me scratch my head as well, that an assistant coach (and the GM) have noticed something the head coach hasn't picked up on, or fails to address.

Who knows. It might not have been planned.

[Chapter29]

No I'm just saying after all the criticism Mo got for letting Nash go off in Phoenix Ivey seemed to get off scott free for allowing the same thing when his main "asset" is supposed to be defense.

I just don't think Ivey is an important enough piece to really talk all that much about really. That's all.

He didn't play Nash well at all, but he also isn't the quickest of PG's and the little quick ones would seem to be the most likely to give him trouble. Let alone Nash.

[xTitan]

-= original quote snipped =-



No I'm just saying after all the criticism Mo got for letting Nash go off in Phoenix Ivey seemed to get off scott free for allowing the same thing when his main "asset" is supposed to be defense.

None of this has anything to do with covering the best PG in the league, the 2 time MVP.....the whole Tony Brown things stems from a 10 contracted scrub humiliating your starting PG...thats just not right.

[DanoMac]

What Attanasio did for the Brewers is fantastic. We need that to happen to the Bucks.

[aboveAverage]

Finally someone shows some emotion in this organization. Everyone seems to be content with "Oh, mo's trying his best, leave him alone." Do you think Gregg Poppovich would continue to start Mo and tell him that he's doing fine? What about Jerry Sloan? Good coaches can get in their players' faces and tell them what they are doing wrong. I'm glad to hear this happened. If only it came from some of mo's teamates, maybe he would have got the message.

[rilamann]

I like this Tony Brown.

The guy pretty much spoke the truth about Mo and did it to Mo's face,gotta respect that.

[Rockmaninoff]

I like this Tony Brown.

The guy pretty much spoke the truth about Mo and did it to Mo's face,gotta respect that.

I agree. Google 'Tony Brown' , find some quotes of his from this year, and you'll see that he has been a straight shooter the whole time.

He might be the most honest guy in the organization. I don't know how far that will let him get ahead, though.

[GrandAdmiralDan]

-= original quote snipped =-



I posted something along these lines in xTitan's thread. There are issues in the locker room right now that involve Redd. That's a fact. But it's also a fact that there are issues involving other players on the team as well, including Mo. If this incident is true - and like you I have no reason at this time to disbelieve it - it speaks to the issues that clearly are affecting this team and ones that go far beyond just Michael Redd.

With regard to Mo missing the following game, I have wondered if that was a result of a team suspension due to this incident. That belief is PURE speculation on my part and I want to emphasize that clearly. But given the nature of the injury (a pinky injury?) and the fact Mo has played through much worse injuries this season already, I do think the timing of him missing this game is at the very least a bit curious.

Definitely a reasonable question to ask. I have been looking into this aspect of the incident with no success so far, but someone did mention to me that Mo had his thumb taped up and not his pinky, if that means anything. I haven't been able to confirm that either.

The main question I had was whether a suspension could be handled internally without the team having to announce it. I'm not sure if there's anything in the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Player's Association that would prevent that. Or if Mo would just go along with a suspension without bringing it to light.

If this is what happened, it would be what I call a "non-suspension suspension"
A bit of a gray area, but there is nothing preventing the coach from doing this. Coaches are free to determine their 12 man active roster each night and are free to decide if a player belongs on the inactive list instead. Furthermore, even when the player ends up on the active list for that game, the minutes they receive are at the discretion of the head coach. They can even choose not to play that player at all, and the reason they state can merely be "Coach's Decision" That is what DNP- CD stands for in the boxscore, of course. "Did Not Play: Coach's Decision"

These type of things do happen sometime. A team wishes to discipline a player, but they simultaneously don't want to tick the player off too much and technically suspend them (causing a loss of their game check) and embarrass them publicly. It is possible this came out because someone still wanted Mo to take some heat publicly even if he was being allowed to keep his game check and have some "cover" for a while with the general public with the "pinky" situation.

Something similar happened with TJ Ford in the 05-06 season. Definitely less severe. He suddenly came off the bench for a game instead of starting that game. He wasn't given any kind of injury cover like Mo was, so people incorrectly speculated he was being sent a message about the way he was playing, but that wasn't the case at all. TJ was being disciplined by Stotts for not showing the proper respect to a non-player within the organization. I thought Stotts handled that situation rather well, actually.

And I agree with Paul - I don't have a problem with the coaches doing what they're paid to do and that's coach the team. Criticism is part of coaching. Anyone who has played basketball at any level has probably gotten an earful from a coach at one time or another. I'm not sure why Mo or any other player on this team should be exempt from that. Like xTitan said, there isn't a player on this team who's done enough to avoid being criticized on some level.

My guess is that what made Mo freak out was a combination of his pride and his feeling betrayed after being told different things prior to that. This may even go back all the way to the 2006 offseason when Mo was told one thing after we traded TJ Ford, and then started hearing different things when we acquired Steve Blake later that offseason, and many of those communication problems caused many problems with Steve Blake which clearly hampered (by various people's observations as well as by his own admission) Blake's performance (his shooting in particular, he actually played better here than most people gave him credit for with the exception of his jump shooting woes which he didn't have a problem with before he arrived here and after he left here).

This should further remind people that a big problem with this franchise is our dysfunctional leadership. Players and their agents hear from too many voices from our franchise, and not all of those voices are on the same page and saying the same thing. Sometimes they hear from Larry Harris. Sometimes they hear from Ron Walter. Sometimes they hear from Senator Kohl directly. Many of our problems are rooted in that type of dysfunctional leadership.

[europa]

I think Mo has a right to be upset if he's being told one thing and then is being criticized harshly where the comments made are in direct opposition to what he's being told. That does speak of the dysfunctional situation this team remains mired in. That said, I think Brown had every right to issue the criticisms he did. That's his job. We can debate which ones might be accurate (if one assumes any were off base) but the bottom line is his job is to coach and part of coaching revolves around critiquing how a player and the team is performing.

But you're right, there's no consistent voice and that's a big part of the problem. We have an owner who does one thing, a GM who does another and a coaching staff that's doing something else. There's no consistency in approach and that's a big reason why the team is floundering in my opinion. There isn't a clear approach to dealing with this team that will result in it becoming a winner.

[europa]

Tony Brown has acknowledged this incident did occur.

So it's no longer an alleged incident.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

Tony Brown for Head Coach? He looked great against the Raptors earlier this season. But seriously, I like everything I've read, heard, or seen so far regarding Tony Brown. He has poise and intelligence, and is appearantly willing to tell the truth.

This team is imploding.

This is pretty darn hilarious because this is nothing more that Terry Porter and his assistant Sam Mitchell did not tell Mo and all of us years ago and the Bucks' including Harris had them fired!

They said he was too strict! Now it is all good? This is nothing that Mitchell did not say a long time ago.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

Let me first start by saying I find this story very hard to believe.

If Tony Brown singled out the PG position for 10 minutes and made comments like that in front of the entire team than he was out of line, imo. If he felt this way he could have pulled Mo aside and told him how he felt...hopefully in a much more professional manner than was reported.

You are foolish! What would pulling Mo aside prove? Sometimes you have to be made accountable for your responsibility TO THE ENTIRE TEAM AND IN FRONT OF THE TEAM! You two are nuts!

I applaud Tony Brown if this is true! It is about damn time! There are times when you need asskickers and a swift kick in the rear to get it in gear and realize you need to elevate your play!

Mo is now on a pay scale where he needs to get his head out of his rear and go! He is accountable now to the entire team so you confront him in front of the entire team which should be 'his team!'

All this BS you are talking about that he was out of line is ridiculous! The coaching staff looks bad when the point guard looks like a sieve on d! That is their job!!!!

Mo is ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COACHING STAFF...mainly Tony Brown who was specifically brought in to work on the defense like he did in New Jersey and Cleveland.

So what are you talkin about!? He was not out of line to say something! Mo has as much blame as Redd and he has not tried to alter his game!

If this happened Tony Brown was not out of line and was well within his duty to confront Mo and Redd IN FRONT OF THE REST OF THE TEAM...
who are busting their ass and rely on Mo and Redd to step up!

This closer door meeting crap is for the birds! Be a man, be a Pro and be accountable to your team and coaching staff or go sit down I say!

If you are not winning you should shut your mouth and do what the coach says! This is the Pro's not Romper Room.

[carmelbrownqueen]

Bucks go into damage control, and now the MJS is FINALLY reporting the Mo & Tony Brown Incident:

Williams, assistant had post-game spat
By Charles F. Gardner
Monday, Jan 28 2008, 05:15 PM

St. Francis - Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak confirmed today that point guard Mo Williams and assistant coach Tony Brown had a "post-game discussion" after the Bucks' 119-99 homecourt loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 19.

But Krystkowiak said there was no fighting in the Bucks' locker room after the game.

"It happened nine days ago," Krystkowiak said. "What you get into is you have a situation where you have 14 or 15 players and some coaches. You just think of them as a group of brothers. What happened the other night has taken on a life of its own, but it's completely blown out of proportion.

"It was a post-game discussion. I'd heard where they needed to be separated and they were fighting. That's all bogus. I was standing right there. We've got a group of good guys. For us to have some sparks flying in the locker room ... I didn't say a word.

"I kind of liked it. It's guys finally being honest with each other. But as far as breaking guys up and trying to keep them from fighting, that's crazy, to think we'd have a coach and a player post-game that are willing to fight. Whatever kind of spark we can get out of this is good. We really didn't give it two thoughts. It wasn't a situation that warranted any disciplinary action. It's just part of the NBA."

-- In an interview after practice, Krystkowiak said he would vote for Washington Wizards forward and Racine native Caron Butler as one of seven all-star reserves for the Eastern Conference. Butler made a convincing case in front of Krystkowiak on Sunday, scoring a career-high 40 points in Washington's overtime loss to the Bucks.

Conference coaches cannot vote for their own players. They vote for two forwards, a center, two guards and two wild-card berths. Butler and Boston's Paul Pierce are expected to be the leading candidates at forward in the East, and it's possible Toronto's Chris Bosh could be voted in at center. Coaches are allowed to put players at any position they play, and Bosh does play both power forward and center.

The East and West all-star reserves will be announced on Thursday night in a TNT cable telecast.

-- Krystkowiak said the Bucks' zone defense and three-quarter court pressure was effective in the 105-102 victory over the Wizards. Milwaukee made extensive use of the zone and had held the Wizards to 79 points until Washington went on its 11-0 run in the final 1 minute 40 seconds of regulation.

"We played about 40 possessions of zone and three-quarter court zone, and it was enough to disrupt some of the timing," Krystkowiak said. "It was really active. They have a couple of options they run a lot of, that our guards did a good job of taking away. Then they went to some other actions.

"But we had five guys with their heads on a swivel and locating people. We saw a lot of bounce in their step. When you look at the video from last night, it's almost as though it was on the wrong speed. You watch defensively some games, it's real lethargic and guys are slow. But feet were moving and guys were closing out to shooters, and the defense is what really carried us last night."

http://blogs.jsonline.com/bucks/archive ... -spat.aspx

[europa]

"It was a post-game discussion. I'd heard where they needed to be separated and they were fighting.

Hi Larry.

[WEFFPIM]

Way to be on the ball, JS!!! Thank God you're the only newspaper in the Milwaukee metro area, where would we be without your prompt expertise?

[fam3381]

RealGM >>> JS

[DH34Phan]

Hey, in team fighting helped Portland. Maybe it will help us too.

[paulpressey25]

What Attanasio did for the Brewers is fantastic. We need that to happen to the Bucks.

Bump.

You wrote the above SIX YEARS ago.

Nothing has changed except the team got worse.....