Larry Brown Alienated an Entire Generation of Stars in the '04 Olympics

The incredibly too-quick fall of Larry Brown has been less mystery than curiosity. The bizarre departure from Detroit followed by the season from Hell in New York explain why L.B. became nearly untouchable in the NBA. But in a league of interminable chances, watching Brown twist in the wind as all sorts of struggling teams went with other options until MJ in Charlotte came calling ... that was weird.

Might Brown's abominable job with the 2004 Olympic team deserve more blame for the coach's castigation? Marc J. Spears indirectly makes that case in a Boston Globe feature on the 2008 team.

Along with being young and inexperienced, Team USA was mired with drama and immense pressure to win. Brown suspended [Allen] Iverson, [LeBron] James, and [Amare] Stoudemire during an exhibition game against Puerto Rico in Jacksonville, Fla., after they were late to a meeting. [Carmelo] Anthony acknowledged the incident was "the beginning" of the troubles for the 2004 team.

"We had a meeting and they were like three to five minutes late," Anthony said. "Coach Brown said they couldn't play. We were kind of shocked. A.I. can't play. Amare can't play. LeBron can't play. We thought it was hurting our team. So to start off like that, you could say it carried over."

Coaches in the NBA rarely get away with angering their stars -- hell, even nice-guy Dwight Howard probably had a major part in getting rid of Brian Hill last summer. So, even in an international competition, pissing off some of the brightest young superstars in the league is not a good idea. What role the Athens disaster had in Brown's downfall is unknown -- it preceded the Detroit drama. But it has certainly has shaped our new image of the legendary coach, and it's limited his relevancy going forward.