Larry Brown has told two league sources that he plans to take the Cavaliers' offer to become their next team president. According to the sources, who spoke to ESPN.com on Monday evening, Brown said he would accept the position after the Pistons' season is over.

Pacers senior vice president David Morway, who had been the frontrunner to get the Cavaliers' GM position before Cleveland began flirting with Brown, had given ownership until Monday evening to make a decision before he had to withdraw from consideration. On Monday, Morway found out that the Cavs were going in another direction.

"I'm in a great situation in Indiana working for Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird, and have no desire to leave unless an unbelievable opportunity came along," Morway told ESPN.com. "When I first interviewed, I was told that the general manager position would have full authority over basketball-related decisions and report directly to ownership.

"However, over the course of the last week, they indicated that they were exploring hiring a high-profile team president that would have full control of all basketball decisions. After talking with ownership, it appears that's the direction they are going and as a result, I am no longer a candidate for the GM position.

"I appreciate the interest they showed in me and wish them the best of luck in the future."

With Larry Brown all but gone from Detroit at the end of the playoffs, Flip Saunders has emerged as the choice to become head coach of the Pistons, according to the New York Daily News.

After the Pistons reportedly made contact with Saunders as early as April 4th, sources say Saunders has held off on taking a job because of Brown's expected departure, and that Saunders would welcome the chance to take over a veteran team that is currently working on its second straight championship.

Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown is unaware of the supposed ultimatium from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on the supposed deadline for today on whether or not to accept their team presidency but even if their was one, his plans remained unchanged for next season.

Brown still plans to make a decision on his future with the Pistons 72 hours after their season ends. Inbetween that time, Brown will visit the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn and could possibily have a second operation to correct a bladder problem he has had since Nov.3.

"Brown said last week that if the condition was fixed, he planned to return to coach the Pistons. If not, he said he might pursue other noncoaching basketball opportunities -- one of which could be as president of basketball operations for the Cavaliers. "

"No, I talked to Joe (Dumars) and everything is the same," Brown said before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night against the Miami Heat.

A local TV station in Detroit says a deal with the Cavaliers is 90 percent complete but Brown denied it as well.

It looks like the Larry Brown saga will continue.

With questionable officiating, the Detroit Pistons began to self-destruct, allowing the Miami Heat to take a 2-1 series lead with a 113-104 win.

"We're too good of a team to have a meltdown like we had tonight," Detroit's Richard Hamilton said. "This late in the season, the Eastern Conference finals, we can't afford to have those types of letdowns. We let little ticky-tack stuff bother us, and we can't do that."

Dwyane Wade scored 36 points on 12-21 shooting, while Shaq scored 24.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert does not want to be left out in the cold if Pistons coach Larry Brown decides not to take the job as Cavaliers President. So, he reportedly wants an answer sooner rather than later.

"League sources have indicated that Gilbert has informed Pistons coach Larry Brown (or his representatives) that he needs an answer by Monday on whether he'll accept the job as the Cavaliers president of basketball operations."

It is unusual for teams to talk with coaches still in the playoffs but Tom Wilson, the president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, gave the Cavaliers permission to speak with Brown.

A sign that Brown could be joining the Cavaliers after the playoffs is that he apparently approved of the Cavaliers upcoming hiring of Indiana Pacers assist Mike Brown as the new head coach.

It is also possible that Brown still wants to coach the Pistons next year but needs to see about his health first before he makes that decision.

"My goal is to coach. As recently as last week, I told (Pistons president Joe Dumars) I had an appointment to get checked as soon as the season was over, and I would be able to let him know as soon as possible."

However, Brown's last coaching job will be in Detroit.

"This is my last coaching job," Larry Brown said. "The only place I'm going to coach next season - or ever - is Detroit."

Antonio McDyess' career was interrupted at its peak by three knee surgeries, and he has finally come to grips with the fact that he'll never regain the explosiveness he once took for granted.  His knee gives him nightly problems, but he is a key contributor on the Pistons' title defense.

"It was kind of hard to swallow in the beginning, definitely. But if it wasn't for my injury I wouldn't be here competing in the Eastern Conference finals," McDyess said Friday. "So I look at it now and feel it was a good thing. It gave me an opportunity to play with the world champions."

Speaking on CNBC on Wednesday, Dan Gilbert said publicly for the first time that he intends to hire a president along with a general manager and a head coach within the coming weeks. He termed it ``a massive transformation.''

On Tuesday, media reports speculated that Larry Brown would be the man chosen to run the club.

Brown told reporters before the Pistons' game with the Miami Heat on Wednesday that he hadn't spoken to Gilbert about the job.

Several NBA officials said, though, that Gilbert and Brown have spoken through intermediaries about him becoming the next Cavaliers president of basketball operations. It is believed that Gilbert will offer him the job and possibly a percentage of team ownership at the conclusion of the Pistons' playoff run.

Those NBA officials also believe that Brown will not coach an NBA team next season.

Pacers' executive David Morway remains a candidate for the GM position.

A source has told the Pioneer Press that Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale of the Timberwolves recently flew to Grand Rapids, Mich., to interview Michigan State's Tom Izzo about the Wolves' coaching vacancy.

Izzo, who likely would cost the Wolves' $4 million a year, is expected to remain with the Spartans unless the Detroit Pistons job becomes available, which is becoming a possibility with the Larry Brown to Cleveland rumors that have been circulating.

Dwyane Wade atoned for his poor Game 1 performance with one of the best night's of this season's postseason.  Wade scored 20 of his game-high 40 points in the 4th quarter, including an emphatic dunk with under two seconds left in the game, giving the Miami Heat a 92-86 victory.

Wade was 15-28 from the floor, making a variety of different types of baskets, including flat foot tip-in's, alley-oop dunks and improbable layups.  He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists and a key block down the stretch.

Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points and 10 rebounds, but badly missed two important free-throws late in the game.

Rip Hamilton led the Pistons with 21 points as the series shifts to Detroit with each team holding one win.

The Cavaliers have asked the Detroit Pistons for permission to talk with coach Brown once the Pistons are either eliminated from the postseason or win their second straight NBA title. The Pistons currently are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.

Brown is a candidate to become Cleveland's next general manager.

Brown, 64, is under contract with the Pistons for three more seasons but he might retire from coaching because of health concerns.

David Morway was initally the leading candidate but a league source told the Plain-Dealer that he is no longer a candidate.