Pistons hire patient Saunders

Patience paid off for Flip Saunders.

After being fired in February by Minnesota, Saunders took some time to assess different job possibilities. When the Detroit Pistons finalized a $7 million severance package with Larry Brown earlier this week, Saunders knew he’d found the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

“I was really fortunate in the past five months to wait and evaluate situations,” Saunders said while being introduced as Detroit’s new coach Thursday. “I was going to wait and get into the right situation to walk into and have an opportunity to win and to win big, and that’s what we have here.”

Less than 24 hours after Brown’s departure, Saunders and the Pistons agreed to a four-year, $20 million contract with incentives that could add more than $6 million. But with his new opportunity comes high expectations. Saunders is replacing a Hall of Famer and taking over a team that has made two straight appearances in the NBA Finals.

Saunders compiled a record of 411-326 in 9 1/2 seasons with Minnesota and helped turn one of the NBA’s most lackluster franchises into a contender. He led the Timberwolves to eight straight postseason appearances – and seven first-round exits before a breakthrough to the Western Conference finals two years ago.

Knicks, Brown meeting quickly

Speeding up his courtship of Larry Brown, New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas planned to meet Thursday with the 64-year-old unemployed coach.

The meeting was scheduled to take place in the evening near Brown’s summer home in East Hampton, N.Y., and a Knicks spokesman said the only two participants would be Thomas and Brown.

It was unclear whether the Knicks already were prepared to offer a contract to Brown, who reached a severance agreement with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

Abdur-Rahim to join Nets

Free agent forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has agreed to play for the New Jersey Nets, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

The Nets also reached agreement with forward Clifford Robinson, the person within the league said on condition of anonymity.