Backup center knows Larry Brown's quirks

Nazr Mohammed played for coach before

WILMINGTON -- Conduit? Translator? Buffer zone?

Or perhaps you should just call Nazr Mohammed the smart, old guy who's already been through the drill with Larry Brown.

Backup center Mohammed is the sole Charlotte Bobcat to play for Brown, unless you count the summer Emeka Okafor sat at the end of the bench with Team USA in 2004.

Mohammed knows Brown's quirks and he's also the only 10-year veteran on a roster with eight players of two seasons or less in the NBA. So Brown leans on Mohammed to convey what needs to be said -- both ways -- to make this thing work.

"I have a little experience with coach Brown from the past. I'll just be the voice of the players when it's getting [too] hard on them, and be [Brown's] voice to them when I know they're not doing what he's expecting," Mohammed said Tuesday. "I know what he wants."

Mohammed played for Brown his first 2 1/2 seasons in the NBA as a Philadelphia 76er. He didn't play much, because the Sixers had big men Derrick Coleman, Todd McCullough and Dikembe Mutombo. But Mohammed always impressed Brown as a smart guy who'd listen and work to improve.

He improved so much that he got big contracts with the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons later in his career. The Bobcats inherited Mohammed's contract with the Pistons when they traded for him last winter. It's not cheap: More than $19 million total over the remaining three seasons, for a player who's unlikely to start much.

But centers are hard to find and it's clear Brown sees intangible pluses in having Mohammed around.

"He understands how to be a pro," Brown said. "Looking around this league, I coached a lot of guys. Over time they know what I'm really about.

Tuesday -- the last practice at UNC Wilmington before tonight's exhibition opener in Orlando -- illustrated the point. Brown said he got "a little high-strung," yelling a bit too much. He needs people telling him when he's right to push and when he's over the top.

That's why he likes a sprinkling of veterans on any roster. Brown said one of his downfalls with the New York Knicks was not having enough veterans to herd in the younger guys.