DETROIT — Larry Brown agreed to a five-year, $25 million deal to be the next coach of the Detroit Pistons, a source within the league said Sunday.
Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek said the team would introduce its new head coach Monday at a noon MDT news conference at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Dobek would not confirm that Brown is the coach.
The source, who had knowledge of the discussions between the Pistons and Brown and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday — one hour before a news conference was held to announce the firing of Rick Carlisle — that Brown would be hired.
Brown did not return three phone messages left at his home during the weekend.
"Larry Brown is obviously a great coach and his record speaks for itself," Carlisle said Sunday. "That's a great hire."
Carlisle was asked if he thought Brown was hired before he was fired.
"I'm not going to get into that," Carlisle said.
Carlisle was fired Saturday after leading Detroit to a 50-win season and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1991.
Brown resigned as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on May 26 after six seasons.
At a bizarre news conference Saturday, Carlisle sat elbow-to-elbow with the man who had just fired him, Joe Dumars.
Carlisle poked fun at himself during an opening statement, then initiated jokes and even defended Dumars' decision when he was pressed to explain the dismissal.
"If you think he's going to bring in a stiff behind me, you're nuts," Carlisle said Saturday, cutting off Dumars' response to a question. "He's going to bring in a big-time guy, and if he can do that he will have done his job."
Brown, a Hall of Famer, was released from a contractual clause that prohibited him from coaching another NBA team if he left Philadelphia prematurely.
When asked about Brown on Saturday, Dumars said, "We'll be talking to him."
Carlisle was fired with one year and $2 million left on his contract despite winning two straight division titles, 100 regular-season games, a Coach of the Year award and leading the Pistons to two postseason series victories for the first time since 1991.
Brown, 62, had two years left in his contract that paid him $6 million per season in Philadelphia.
He also coached Denver (five years), Indiana (four years), San Antonio (3 1/2 years), New Jersey (two years), Carolina of the ABA (two years) and the Clippers (18 months).