Malone took long path
He made many stops before finding a home in Cleveland
CLEVELAND - When his father, Brendan Malone, was an assistant coach at the University of Rhode Island, Michael Malone attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I. As his father's career path took him to the NBA and the New York-New Jersey area, Michael matriculated to Seton Hall Prep and later Worcester Academy, where he would forge friendships and make connections that would help him on his own career path.
Michael, now an assistant coach with the Cavaliers, was asked yesterday what he considered his break in the business.
"I'd have to say probably when Jeff Van Gundy [hired him as a coaching associate in 2001]," Malone said. "I was working in college for seven years at Providence. I was with Pete Gillen at Virginia for one year. I worked at Manhattan College for two years with Bobby Gonzalez, who's now the head coach at Seton Hall, then Jeff Van Gundy hired me and gave me my entry into the NBA with the New York Knicks, where I spent my first four years."
Malone said he initially interviewed for an advance scout position, but Van Gundy was considering Malone for a spot on his video staff.
"I wanted to stay on the coaching track," Malone said. "I was going to stay in college, but he kind of created a position for me: coaching associate.
"It was pretty much like an assistant coach. I worked with the players, sat behind the bench, went to all the meetings . . . [Van Gundy] resigned early in that season and having known him and having a bond through Providence College and through my father, I learned so much from him in a short period of time and we still stay in touch."
Malone remained with the Knicks when Don Chaney took over, and worked for four coaches in his four years in New York.
What was the connection in Cleveland?
"Funny story," Malone said. "None."
Malone explained that during a trip to Argentina with Manu Ginobili and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, for a "Basketball without Borders" mission in 2005, he forged a relationship with Popovich. "At the end of trip, [Popovich] says, 'Listen, I don't know if you know anything about basketball, but I like hanging out with you a lot, and you're a good kid; if you ever need a job let me know,' " Malone recalled. "And I said, 'I might be calling you real soon.'
"So as it turns out, Larry Brown gets the [Knicks] job, I'm trying to be proactive and I leave Pop a message and he calls me back at work, my cell, and at home. He says, 'I'm way ahead of you; I talked to Larry Brown.' He goes, 'I'm not sure if it's going to happen because he's got a lot of his own guys, but Mike Brown just got the job in Cleveland and Danny Ferry's the GM, and they both worked for me in San Antonio, so I got you an interview. Now it's up to you. I've done my job.' "
When Malone interviewed in Cleveland, he had little idea how much influence Popovich's endorsement had.
"It's funny, because I said to Mike Brown, 'Should I have Lenny Wilkens or Jeff Van Gundy call? " Malone said. "And he said, 'Listen, Pop called on your behalf. Pop is God to me, so you don't have to have anybody else call.' So I got the job."
"But there was really no connection here, except for that summer trip with Popovich," said Malone. "So a week in Argentina helped me get this job in Cleveland."
Varejao OK to play
Brown reported after yesterday's shootaround that Anderson Varejao would be available to play last night. The 6-foot-10-inch Brazilian forward was questionable after sustaining a right knee contusion in the first half of Cleveland's 108-84 romp Saturday night."He did not have any problems doing everything and anything we did in the shootaround," Brown reported.
Varejao didn't have many problems during the game, either, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, to go with six rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Starting power forward Ben Wallace didn't do much offensively, per usual, with just 2 points in 22 minutes, but he did provide seven rebounds and two steals.
Three-headed defense
Although Varejao entered Game 4 averaging just 3 points and 4 rebounds in the series, Brown said his greatest contribution has been the depth he's provided in the frontcourt rotation."Andy's an energy guy," Brown said. "The size that he is, his agility and his toughness is off the charts. Like I've said, you're not going to stop Ray Allen, you're not going to stop Paul Pierce, you're not going to stop Kevin Garnett.
"You just want to make those guys, as well as the rest of the team, but especially those three, you want to make them work for their shots. And Andy's a guy that's allowed us to put three different bodies on Kevin and try to make him work for his shot.
"Andy tries to be physical with him and works his tail off for a few minutes, and then Joe [Smith] might play him a little bit and we'll come back to Ben. So we're just trying to put different bodies on KG, so he can get different looks because all three of those guys defend in different ways."
Moves approved
Brown commented on the latest NBA coaching moves, the Knicks hiring Mike D'Antoni and the Mavericks hiring Rick Carlisle, for whom Brown served as an associate head coach with the Pacers. "D'Antoni is a great coach and he's a good person and I think he'd be a great hire for anybody," Brown said. "[New Knicks president] Donnie Walsh is one of the best in the business and I think he's a great hire for those guys." As for Carlisle landing in Dallas? "I had the pleasure and great fortune of working with Rick and learning from him, so that's a great hire also," Brown said. "He's going to do a lot for that franchise."