Jackson: Brown's attitude lost team

Larry Brown’s demise as Charlotte Bobcats coach was fated the day before training camp, when Brown trashed the team’s prospects to the Bobcats’ two captains.

That, according to Stephen Jackson, the captain who remains with the team following Brown’s firing in December and co-captain Gerald Wallace’s trade to Portland in February.

“When I had my beginning-of-the-season meeting, he basically told me we weren’t going to be good, that we weren’t going to be a playoff team,’’ Jackson recalled in a remarkably candid interview Thursday.

“You know me: I’m not going to accept that from anyone – telling me before we even get to see what happens that we aren’t going to be any good. He lost me there.’’

Jackson said Brown’s negativity left him and his teammates tuning out Brown.

“I kind of lost respect for him,’’ Jackson said. “Not as far as him being a great coach, a Hall of Fame coach. I lost respect for how he was approaching this season with this team.

“It’s kind of hard to go to war with a guy like that. I think that’s when he lost the team. We didn’t feel confident as a team. We didn’t feel good about being Bobcats until coach Silas was here.’’

Jackson, who missed the last eight games with a hamstring strain, said he wants to play out the last two years on his contract.

“I had a meeting with Rod (Higgins, the general manager) and coach, and told them I want to be back. I don’t want to go anywhere else,’’ Jackson said. “A lot of people try to compare this to Golden State, where I wanted to leave because they were going young. I don’t see that here. We were a couple games out of the playoff with the young guys we have.

“We definitely should be in the playoffs next year and I’m looking forward to being here.’’