Brown denies speaking with Cavs owner about job

MIAMI -- Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown said Wednesday he has never spoken to Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert about the possibility of becoming president of the Cavaliers.

Responding to a published report suggesting he might want to leave the Pistons after this season and become Cleveland's president of basketball operations, Brown said he would like to remain Detroit's coach -- but only if he's able to overcome a health problem he plans to address as soon as the season ends.

"I don't want to draw this thing out. As soon as the season's over, I'm going to get it checked. And I hope in a couple days I'll be able to give a definitive answer," Brown said before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.

"I think within 72 hours (of the end of the season) I'll be able to let (team president Joe Dumars) know. If he wants to make a change before that, I can accept that."

Brown said he will stop coaching if his health problem cannot be fixed, but he would want to continue working in basketball in some capacity.

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

The New York Times, quoting an anonymous Eastern Conference executive, reported Wednesday that Brown has talked recently to the Cleveland owner. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the Cavaliers had asked the Pistons' permission to speak to Brown.

"Never talked," Brown said of Gilbert. "I don't know if I've ever met him."

Dumars declined comment.

Brown, whose name has been also linked at times with the New York Knicks' and Los Angeles Lakers' coaching vacancies, along with a handful of other jobs, has three years remaining on a five-year, $25 million contract.

Gilbert, speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, said the Cavaliers "are undergoing a massive transformation" and that he will announce the hiring of a new coach, new general manager and president in the next one to two weeks.

He wouldn't, however, speak specifically about Brown.

"There's a lot of names that are kind of circulating out there and a lot of rumors," Gilbert said. "And unfortunately, or fortunately, I can't comment on any of them. ... There's nothing imminent right now signing with anybody but we're getting very close. We're very excited about the candidates we're talking to."