When the Lakers front office began the search for a new head coach in Los Angeles, numerous names were thrown around. Lakers long time assistant coach Brian Shaw appeared to be the original front-runner.
Former Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman was mentioned often throughout the search. Current TNT color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, former Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, and Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person were all mentioned throughout the Lakers coaching search as well.
At the end of the process though, one name was chosen by the Lakers front office to lead the Lakers on the court in the future: Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.
Brown, who finished with an overall record of 272-138 in his five seasons with the Cavaliers, has a knack for being successful, and more importantly, winning. He's also dealt with superstar players before, as he coached LeBron James in Cleveland while the two helped the Cavaliers lead the league in wins for two consecutive years with 66 wins in the 2008-09 season and 61 wins in the 2009-10 season.
For those that may not know much about Brown besides the fact that he was the former Cavaliers coach, Brown was also an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio from 2000-03 and applies many of the same ideas and defensive emphasis that Popovich has applied during his stint with the Spurs.
"Mike Brown is a great coach," said former Cavaliers player LeBron James, per ESPN.com. "He brought us success that we hadn't had before in that city (Cleveland), and it started with his defensive concepts. He brought in a defensive mindset that we didn't have. Fifty-plus wins, he was coach of the year, he got us to the (NBA) Finals, won us the Eastern Conference finals ... because of him and his coaching staff. I respect him. He defini...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
