Larry Brown -- arguably the best teacher in basketball -- is available. Will Charlotte's new NBA franchise pursue him?

"Larry Brown is one of the most accomplished coaches ever in the NBA," team executive vice president Ed Tapscott told The Observer Monday. "So anyone who has a franchise would certainly want to gauge his level of interest if the timing was correct."

Brown resigned from the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, effectively making him the most attractive free-agent coach in the NBA. Charlotte's expansion team needs a coach for its debut season in fall 2004.

But as Tapscott implied, timing is an issue. The team is pursuing Michael Jordan to run the basketball operation, and there are no plans to hire a coach before Jordan or some other candidate takes charge of basketball-related decisions.

Team owner Bob Johnson is scheduled to discuss the job with Jordan by telephone next Monday.