Two years after LeBron James was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers as the No. 1 overall pick, Mike Brown was named the 17th coach in Cavaliers’ history. In the LeBron era, the Cleveland basketball franchise went through two coaches and the firing of a general manager, interim coaches not included. Mike Brown was let go just months before James’ huge “Decision” debacle on ESPN, where he announced his 2010-2011 season destination.
In what was more than likely a ploy to keep James with the organization, the Cavaliers lost a pretty good coach in Mike Brown. He was able to halt the foul direction of the team and produced the best winning percentage of any coach in the team’s history.
He was to the staff what LeBron was to the squad, but Dan Gilbert and company were too blindsided by the achievements and potential of James to consider life after him.
Now a move made to pacify their sole superstar, led them down a path of obscurity on both sides of clipboard. Not to say that Byron Scott is not an excellent leader, but Brown’s system had not been broken. Their attempts to fix it have fallen far short of admirable.
But, all of that is in the past now. Mike Brown and his $4 million - $4.5 million per season contract have headed to Hollywood as he takes on the challenge of restoring the youth in Kobe’s legs again. Not that it has not happened before, because there have been multiple times where I thought that his moment in the spotlight was dwindling. Can Brown master the personalities that he faces in LA?
That has yet to be seen. Looking back to his time in Cleveland, he only had one huge ego to maintain. Other than LeBron, there were ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
