Larry Brown says he feels like a “dead man walking,” with his status with the Knicks being a little bit, well, uncertain. Actually, it seems kinda certain, it’s just not happened yet. But that’s not really what I’m concerned with here. It seems like the Knicks really, really, really don’t want him to be talking to the media.

Reporters aren’t allowed to watch any of the workouts. They’re not allowed to talk to Isiah, James Dolan, or Lary Brown. One time last week, Brown tried to leave the Garden through the players exit, reporters approached, and security guards jumped in and ordered them to leave, threatening arrests. And today, Brown had a police escort from the building… which seems a little extreme, and like a colossal waste of police time. I guess there’s nothing for cops to do in New York.

Anyway, reporters today camped out at the first stop light that they thought Larry Brown might encounter on his way home. Brown saw them, pulled his car off the road, and did a stop-and-chat. That’s where the “dead man walking” comment came from… and I sure it irritated the hell out of James Dolan, who could avoid all of this if he’d just make up his damn mind.

Reporters are so starved for information about the whole situation that they grilled all the college players that worked out for the Knicks today about any little tidbits of interaction they saw between Larry and management. That’s gotta feel nice for the younsters. They spend a day on essentially a job interview, sweating and stressing every little thing, and when it’s done, all they get is, “Hey, did Isiah look mad when he talked to Larry? Do you think Larry and Isiah are friends? If Larry and Isiah were on The Odd Couple, who would be Felix and who would be Oscar?”

And while we’re on the subject… I was thinking today that I don’t think I know a single person, not one, who, if they were the GM of the New York Knicks, could do a worse job than Isiah Thomas. I’m completely serious. How hard would someone have to try to fuck things up worse? How much worse could it get than trading for Steve Francis and his max contract when you already have a worse version of him at the same position, making just as much money?

The Knicks could hire my Aunt Genny… and I can’t think of a single person in the universe who knows or cares less about the NBA than she does. And she would be better than Isiah, because she would do nothing. She’d sit in The Garden all day, stare at the walls, play Free Cell on the computer, and think to herself, “I think our uniforms should have pigs on them.” And five years or so down the line, all the Knicks terrible contracts would have expired, and they’d have cap room, and all the sucky players would be gone… and that would have to be considered major progress from where the Knicks are right now. The New York media would hail my Aunt Genny as a hero.