Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown has seen it all in his 31 seasons behind a bench.

 The 64-year-old has attained the greatest heights a head coach can achieve, capturing an ABA title in 1969, as well as the only head coach in history to win championships at both the NCAA level (with the University of Kansas in 1988) and the NBA last season with the Pistons.  

 Brown has also been subjected to some of the game?s greatest disappointments as well, namely last November?s Basket-Brawl incident at The Palace between Brown?s Pistons and now archrival Indiana Pacers and the Team USA debacle at last summer?s Athens Games, in which the Brown-led squad finished a disappointing third.   The well-traveled coach (seven NBA stops, including Detroit, Philadelphia, Indiana, Denver, San Antonio, L.A. Clippers and New Jersey) has also been known to clash with a player or two, especially young ones, as well as criticize officials on more than one occasion.  

 Brown has been there and done that as a coach, so you would expect he could deal with any obstacle that may come his way, especially one caused by his own doing.

 Not only did the Pistons bench boss err in telling a New York Post writer how he?d love to one day coach his hometown Knicks before retiring, but his decision to duck the press following Detroit?s convincing 91-61 win at home over New York Saturday night only added to fuel to the fire.  

 So the Brooklyn, N.Y., native?s dream job would be to coach the eternally disappointing and underachieving Knicks, has been for years now?  Fair enough.  It?s always nice to come back home again, even though any head coach would have a hard time turning around the mess GM Isiah Thomas has created.  

 However, whether Brown has any intention of speaking to Thomas about the New York job this summer or not, why go on record talking about another job, especially when Brown?s Pistons are currently playing their best basketball of the season ? winners of three straight and nine of 13 - and are trying to repeat as champs?  To the New York media, no less, who you ? and surely Brown himself - had to know would run with the story to no end.  

 Less-than-stellar judgment on Brown?s part.

 The icing on the cake, however, was Brown?s refusal to talk to reporters before or after Saturday?s game.  If you?re going to cause a stir by talking about how much you?d love to coach another team, then don?t duck the media when they call you out.    

 Hey, I mean, perhaps Brown?s comments were ?taken out of context,' right?  Not unlike the media to want to put their own spin on things in order to come up with a story now, would they?

 Fact is, Brown can?t stay in one place for long (just look at how he unceremoniously left the Sixers to come to Motown), and it shouldn?t surprise anyone in the least if he were to leave for Gotham after this season.  

 Brown did what he set out to accomplish in Detroit - win a championship.  Now, it appears time for him to embark on a new challenge.

 And boy, what a challenge it would be, indeed, to turn around the flailing Knicks...  

 
 Another bad apple in T.O.?  It would appear the headaches continue in Raptorland.

 First, it was former-franchise player Vince Carter?s never-ending desire to be dealt and all of the inner-turmoil Carter?s sulking created both on and off the floor.  

 Now, point guard Rafer Alston appears to be a growing malcontent.

Toronto general manager Rob Babcock on Sunday slapped Alston with a two-game suspension for ?conduct detrimental to the team.?  While the team did not go into specifics, head coach Sam Mitchell appears to have grown frustrated with the 28-year-old?s on-court demeanor.

 ?His passion is a strength but sometimes it can be a weakness.  You have to learn to control your emotions,? Mitchell said prior to the Raptors? 123-105 loss at home to Phoenix Sunday.  

 ?There?s rules and certain things that we have to follow and a certain code of conduct and professionalism that we?re not going to expect but demand.  It would be helpful for him as far as furthering his career and being the player he has the talent to be.?

 Alston, Toronto?s prized free-agent acquisition this past off-season, has averaged a more-than-respectable 14 points and 7.1 assists on the year, but numbers don?t necessarily tell the entire story when it comes to the man they call ?Skip to my Lou.?

 On the court, Alston?s play has been erratic, in particular his decision-making, which has been suspect at best.  Often, the sixth-year point guard has relied more on a struggling 3-point shot than setting up his teammates, which include the ever-developing Chris Bosh in the low post and veterans Morris Peterson and Jalen Rose, who have all thrived since the departure of Carter to New Jersey last month.

 Off the court, Alston has done his fair share of bickering, in particular regarding Mitchell?s starting lineups and player rotations, and went as far as to contemplate retirement after he was benched by Mitchell following a Dec. 3 loss at Boston.  

 "You could kind of feel it, that something like this was going to happen," Mitchell added.