| |
|
Mike Brown wins Lakers jackpot
By Nicholai R. Roska PhilBoxing.com Thu, 26 May 2011
 Mike Brown.
WE HAVE a winner. In the sweepstakes that is the Lakers coaching search, Mike Brown owns the lucky ticket.
ESPN broke the news late Wednesday that the Los Angeles Lakers will name Brown the 22nd head coach in the history of the storied franchise. Brown is expected to sign a contract in the coming days, and he will be paid a king's ransom -- $18.25 million for four years.
Megastar Kobe Bryant, who has publicly endorsed longtime Lakers assistant Brian Shaw to inherit Phil Jackson's vacated job, won't be expected to do any cartwheels to celebrate this recent hiring. But given Brown's impressive track record, Bryant probably won't be sulking, either.
In his five-year stint (2005-2009) as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 41-year old Brown accumulated a won-lost record of 272-138. He guided the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals --- a quest that was thwarted by the San Antonio Spurs --- and was named NBA Coach of the Year in the 2008-2009 season.
With the likes of Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Adelman on the free agent market, it can be argued that Brown is not the best coaching mind availble . Heck, Mike might not be the best Brown available after Larry and Hubie.
But the Lakers are hoping that Mike Brown's past success and defensive mindset will serve the purple-and-gold well.
Prior to landing his big break in Cleveland, Brown had served as assistant coach to Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlise and Gregg Poppovich of the San Antonio Spurs. In other words, Brown didn't just pluck hoops lessons from a basketball manual. He learned from the best.
"He's a great coach," ex-Cav turned Miami Heat LeBron James told reporters Wednesday afternoon as news of the celebrated hire filtered around the NBA.
Brown doesn't have neither the flair nor the charm of the Zen Master. And he doesn't use the Triangle, an offense that is so ingrained in the fabric of the Lakers attack.
But if Brown can duplicate his success in Cleveland and make Kobe a believer, he might just be a good fit. (NRR)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Nicholai R. Roska.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 15 SEPTEMBER 2025: Crawford Snatches Canelo's Undisputed Crown at 168 Lbs; Inoue Defeats Akhmadliev to Retain 4 Superbantam Belts; Crocker Outpoints Donovan By Eric Armit, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025TICKET NEWS: EUBANK JR-BENN II ON SALE FROM THIS WEDNESDAY , Wed, 17 Sep 2025“Night of Champions” Returns to Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando on September 19 , Wed, 17 Sep 2025Canelo-Crawford: The Consolidation of Boxing’s New Commercial Empire By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025A New Era for Boxing: Canelo vs. Crawford Shatters Global Viewership Records on Netflix By Dong Secuya, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025Crawford Not the First Lightweight to Distinguish Himself at Super Middleweight By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025Kurt Scoby and Josh Popper Headline Boxing Insider Card September 19 in Times Square , Wed, 17 Sep 2025Green and Gold 2025: Amateur Boxing’s International Gathering in Bolivia By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025Pakistan's Sameer Khan Set to Battle for UBO Youth World Title in Brico Santig’s Sep 27 Show in Thailand By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025SAMBO Pilipinas is Southern NSA of the Year 2025 By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador , Tue, 16 Sep 2025Smarts over power By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON , Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition , Tue, 16 Sep 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships , Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?” By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title , Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION , Sun, 14 Sep 2025 |

|
|
|
|
|