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This should be fun to watch.... See if the Bull organization will 'rescue' them.... http://www.westauction.com/auction/index/id/207 I found this in this mornings paper. Solves the mystery of why and who....... Business decisions haunt former Kings coach Brown Published: Tuesday, May. 5, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1C Randy Brown is well aware of the perception, even if it doesn't match reality. That, more than anything, is the most painful part of an already challenging time. "People figure that here's this guy … he's played in the NBA, he just got fired (as a coach), he's broke, and here he is giving up his championship rings," he said recently, frustration clear in his voice. "That hurt me because those (rings) mean a lot to me." Less than two weeks after he was one of four Kings assistant coaches fired with interim coach Kenny Natt, Brown – the former Kings player and role player on the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls teams that won titles in 1996, '97 and '98 – finds himself as the latest poster boy for athletes who mismanage money. When news broke April 28 that West Auction had gained control of Brown's three championship rings as part of his bankruptcy filing, the timing of the story led to a tailor-made story line of the financially failing athlete. It served as a brass-knuckles blow to the man who was part of one of the NBA's most celebrated teams. There's a looming May 19 auction date, a starting price of $19,000 apiece and an uncertain fate for his most cherished hardware. But this situation, Brown wants to make clear, isn't what it seems. "I'm going to be working for another NBA team here in a couple months, and (the recent media coverage) portrayed that I'm broke already and here are my rings (being auctioned)," said Brown, who hopes to find his next NBA coaching job soon. "My family suffered a lot, my wife suffered a lot. It was old news to us and news to everyone else. … I (don't) want to be portrayed as a guy who didn't manage his money well and who is giving up his championship rings for a nice dinner out with his wife." Bankruptcy came even before the Kings hired Brown, a Chicago native who was based in the Windy City before returning to Sacramento. He said the process "started in August of 2007." After a series of failed real estate and restaurant dealings with "some bad people who I thought were my friends," he was in a financial hole too big to dig out of alone. "Some buddies who I'm not even going to call friends anymore, left me in a 20-year lease with 20 properties and just left me with all those deals, so I filed bankruptcy in 2007," Brown said. "I already told my attorney that I'm going to contact the NBA to see if I can talk to the young players in this league about signing their name to some business situations that turn out to be no good. At the end of the day, I had some business partners, but it was Randy Brown's name that was on everything." It was then that Brown changed careers, with former Kings coach and longtime friend Reggie Theus hiring him in July 2007. While bankruptcy would mean the debt wouldn't be fully repaid, creditors wanted Brown to pay one way or another. "When it came down to it, the judge said your name is on everything and you've got to come battle for this stuff," Brown said. "My business partners went and hid behind the rocks." While the rings aren't the only valuables Brown has been forced to give up, he said they are his most cherished possessions. "They went for my heart," Brown said. "They knew those rings were on my finger, my name was on those banners. They went for my heart, they went for my name, and for the most part they were successful. They don't care about what happens with those rings." Until last week, Brown had been told he could regain the rings by way of a third party through the auction. Now, however, he has been informed otherwise. If Brown can't reclaim the rings, he said the Bulls could replace them. "It pulled me apart," Brown said. "Legally, I understand these creditors wanted the rings, but they knew they were getting my heart."
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