LeBron James speaks out for ex-coach Mike Brown after the Lakers debacle – NBA Update
LeBron James might not have won any championships when he played under Mike Brown at the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he certainly respects the coach who oversaw his transition from a boy to a man in the league. And when the Los Angeles
Lakers fired him this weekend, he was one of the many people who spoke out in the support of the coach;
"I think it's unfortunate," James said Friday after the win against the Hawks. "I just don't think he got a fair shake, honestly. With the shortened season last year, and five games into this year, he didn't really get a full season."
Brown had a successful time in Cleveland, where he helped establish a winning tradition, and removed their tag of perennial strugglers. In 2009, he won the NBA coach of the year award for leading the Cavs to a 66-16 regular season
record. A lot of that had to do with LeBron though, and when the Cavaliers lost the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics in the 2010 playoffs, the Ohio based franchise decided to fire him. He was immediately followed by LeBron, who decided
to take his talents to the South Beach and went on to win his first NBA Champion with the Miami Heat last season.
The Cavaliers had argued at that time that Brown just didn’t have the calibre to lead the team into championship and on Friday, his firing by the Lakers brought a sense of déjà vu. Under Brown, the team managed to win only one
of the five games they played, the lone win coming against a weak Detroit Pistons outfit. Ever since the axe, a lot of people have criticized the move with former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy going as far as to brand it the ‘most ridiculous’ firing
he has seen in his career.
Brown joined the Lakers nearly a year ago, and with limited offensive credentials, he was always going to struggle. The addition of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to the roster this off season added further pressure on him to deliver,
something which he failed to do. While many people argue that five games with a new and star studded roster were not enough to gauge Brown, the Lakers management has made it clear that it was not the present results but Brown’s approach which forced them to
make the decision.
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