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DETROIT (AP) -- Larry Brown is out as coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Brown and the Pistons reached a settlement Tuesday on the final three years of his contract, Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek said. He now is free to coach another team next season, said Dobek, who declined to provide further details.

Asked if the team had fired Brown, Dobek replied: "Say what you want."

The team didn't want the Hall of Fame coach back and had offered a payoff, Brown's agent, Joe Glass, said Tuesday.

"I take umbrage with the Pistons, or sources, saying it's a buyout," Glass said Tuesday morning before the announcement. "A buyout encompasses a mutual agreement, and that's not what is happening. Larry Brown is saying, 'I want to coach the Pistons,' and they want to pay him off for whatever reason."

Before the Pistons said Monday that they were negotiating a buyout, they had said they would welcome Brown back if he was willing to return.

"Until this week, I can't remember a time that I read Joe Dumars not categorically state that Larry Brown is our coach," Glass said. "The Pistons can try to change the facts, but you can't change history.

"When did this all break down? My best guess is months ago."

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