"This is something I have wanted to do at the right time," said Brown, 40, who will be introduced Wednesday morning as coach of the Springfield Armor, the city's new NBA Development League team.

"It's exciting. I have wanted to be involved in player development, and I have spent a lot of time in the (New England) area," said Brown, who played more than seven of his 12 NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics .

A press conference will be held at 11 a.m., at the MassMutual Center, to introduce Brown. It is open to the public.

The Armor opens its first season in November. Players will be supplied by NBA teams in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey, with free agents signed by the club to fill out the roster.

As he designs the Armor's style of play, Brown will meet with the coaches of all three NBA affiliates, he said.

He is undaunted by the task of developing a system to suit prospects of several different NBA teams, each of which might have its own style.

Brown said the bigger challenge will be convincing his players to operate within the framework of the Armor system, even as they try to get NBA teams to notice them individually.

"I think it's harder (to coach in the D-League) than the NBA," Brown said. "Building a system is not hard, it's getting the players to understand and accept the concept of what you are trying to do.

"The one thing you have to do is tell them the truth."

As much as D-Leaguers want individual notoriety, Brown said playing within the team concept is to their advantage. These players will enter the NBA as role players, if they get there at all.

"The best player in this league might not get a sniff of the court in the NBA. What you don't want is for a player to become a distraction," Brown said.

Brown played for the Celtics from 1990 until being traded to Toronto during the 1997-98 season. He finished his career with Orlando.

A 6-foot-1 guard, he won the 1991 NBA Slam-Dunk contest with a "no-look" dunk that is still shown on highlight films.

After retiring as a player, Brown coached in the WNBA with the 2002 Orlando Miracle, which later became the Connecticut Sun, and with the 2004 San Antonio Silver Stars.

He has worked in the Orlando Magic front office, primarily in player development. Brown has also worked for ESPN.

His wife is the former Tammy Jones, who played Basketball for American International College from 1987-91.

In addition to coaching, Brown will serve as Armor director of Basketball operations. Principal owner Mike Savit said Brown's name recognition is appealing from a marketing standpoint, but that what really set him apart was his knowledge of the game.

"We must have gone through 40 or 50 candidates, but the field was quickly narrowed down, and when it was, Dee Brown's name stood out," Savit said.

The Boston Celtics' Dee Brown waits to enter the Hall of Fame Game against the Miami Heat Oct. 17, 1995 at the Springfield Civic Center.