It's now up to NBA commissioner David Stern to decide if Larry Brown is entitled to the remainder of his salary from the Knicks.
The fired New York coach wrapped up a second day of hearings at the NBA offices Tuesday. His financial fate now rests in Stern's hands.
After James Dolan fired Brown in June, the Madison Square Garden chairman refused to pay Brown the US$40 million that was left for the remaining four years. Dolan said he had cause for the firing.
He cited Brown's refusal to follow the company's media policies and his tendency to overstep his role as coach and get involved in personnel decisions as key reasons for withholding the coach's salary.
A clause in Brown's contract made Stern the arbiter if there was any dispute, and the commissioner heard nearly 15 hours of testimony Friday and Tuesday from Brown's legal team, Garden officials and other witnesses.
Neither side would comment before or after the hearings. Dolan, who left nearly an hour before Brown, planned to fly after the session to Charleston, S.C., where the Knicks opened training camp Tuesday under Isiah Thomas, Brown's successor.
Thomas attended Friday's hearing but was not required to appear Tuesday. MSG sports president Steve Mills and senior vice-president of communications Barry Watkins joined Dolan for the second day.
Stern ordered both sides to make post-hearing submissions, which he will review before ruling on the matter.
There is no deadline for Stern's decision, but it will likely be more than a week. He is scheduled to leave Wednesday for Europe, where Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers are playing exhibition games against foreign teams as part of the NBA Europe Live tour.
Stern is planning to see games in Italy, Russia, France, Spain, and Germany. The games begin Thursday and run through Oct. 11.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
