Report: Brown will coach at Charlotte

Bobcats expected to name former Tar Heel as coach today

CHARLOTTE -- The Charlotte Bobcats have called a news conference this afternoon for what they termed "a major basketball announcement," and The Associated Press is reporting that well-traveled Larry Brown has reached an agreement to return to the NBA as coach of the team.

The Charlotte Observer also reported that Brown had an agreement with the team.

The 67-year-old Hall of Famer will be taking over his ninth NBA team. It will be his first coaching job since a messy exit from the New York Knicks in 2006. Brown will replace Sam Vincent, fired Saturday after going 32-50 in his one season.

Reached early Tuesday, Vincent said he wasn't surprised that part-owner Michael Jordan decided to bring in a veteran coach.

"Michael never said that he was hiring Coach Brown. He just said they were going to make some decisions that were in the best interest of the organization," Vincent said. "So I kind of assumed of going in the direction of hiring a veteran coach and someone who was very popular in the community."

Brown's agent, Joe Glass, refused to confirm or deny that his client was headed to Charlotte.

Brown won the NBA championship with Detroit in 2004 and the NCAA title with Kansas in 1988. He resigned last week as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers, and Glass indicated Brown wanted to return to coaching.

The move means Jordan has turned to a fellow former Tar Heel to try to get the fourth-year Bobcats into the playoffs for the first time. Jordan and Brown played at North Carolina for coach Dean Smith.

Brown, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, is one of five NBA coaches with at least 1,000 victories.

While he's had contentious splits with several teams, he's had success at nearly every job before his poor season with the Knicks in 2005-06.

Terms of Brown's deal in Charlotte were uncertain. But it's likely he will get a much larger salary than Vincent. Having never coached in the NBA before, Vincent made about $1.5 million this season. He has one year left on a two-year contract.

"I wish Coach Brown all the success in the world," Vincent said. "I think he'll have a great group of guys, and I wish him nothing but the best."