"Gerald Wallace was trying to get some Christmas shopping done Wednesday afternoon when he realized he had more than two dozen missed calls.

Friends and teammates were trying to let Wallace know that Larry Brown was out as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, 28 games into his third season.

"It was a surprise to me. It's something you totally didn't see coming," Wallace said Thursday after the team's first practice under interim head coach Paul Silas.

As the shock waves of Brown's sudden departure began to subside on the first day of the Paul Silas era, Bobcats players were adjusting to the change in leadership.

It had been clear the team had problems – three losses by 30 or more points in six games and a disappointing 9-19 record were the most dramatic indicators – but the players didn't expect a coaching change.

"I'm surprised it wasn't a call for me going someplace else," guard Stephen Jackson said. "We were playing so bad I knew something was going to happen."

Both Wallace and Jackson praised Brown for the work he did with them individually and with the team. They were aware of his biting criticism in recent days of both himself and the players."