DETROIT (AP) – After Larry Brown’s agent and the Detroit Pistons talked about his future again, the Hall of Fame coach insisted nothing had changed from his perspective.

“I just want to get well and coach the Pistons,” Brown said Wednesday night in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’ve been saying that for a long time, but nobody seems to believe me. I don’t know what else I can say.”

Joe Glass, Brown’s agent, said he spoke with Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars for the second straight day on Wednesday. Both Glass and Dumars said nothing new developed from their latest conversation.

“We just have to monitor Larry’s health,” Glass said. “The Mayo Clinic could not give him a timeframe for his next step, so I certainly can’t do that.”

Brown was hospitalized last week for two days to address a medical problem that developed from complications following hip surgery in November and didn’t go away after a second procedure in March.

The 64-year-old Brown has said if doctors deem him healthy enough, he wants to return next season to Detroit – and insists he will not coach another NBA team.

He declined Wednesday to say whether he wanted to continue coaching if he still had the medical problem he had throughout much of last season.

“The doctors told me to get some rest, so that’s what I’m trying to do out here with my family,” Brown said in a telephone interview from his vacation home in New York. “I’ve been approaching this like I’ll be back because I love the guys and the organization.

“I’ve been looking at free agency, and I’m really excited about our draft. I think the young kid, Amir Johnson, could be special.”

Last year, Brown became the first coach to win NBA and NCAA championships. He won the college title with Kansas in 1988.

The Pistons came up short in their bid to repeat this year, losing to San Antonio in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last month.

AP-ES-07-06-05 1906EDT

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