Los Angeles Lakers add Mike Brown to their list for the head-coach candidates
After the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson the Los Angeles Lakers have begun a hunt for his successor and in this regard they have taken another deliberate step. According to the sources there is a new entry on the
candidates’ list. This entry comes in the shape of the Mike Brown, who took the Cleveland Cavaliers to new heights in the LeBron James era.
Brown was the head coach of Cleveland Cavaliers from June 2005 till May 2010. He is currently working as a National Basketball Association analyst and it is expected that the Lakers will ‘soon’ interview him.
Prior to Brown, there were three known candidates for the post including ex-Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman, former Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy and Jackson’s assistant Brian Shaw, the only serious in-house contender.
Besides Los Angeles, the Oakland based franchise Golden State Warriors is also looking to find a replacement for their coach Keith Smart, who was relieved of his duties after a 36-46 regular season record. The rumour that is swirling
in the coaching circles now is that Brown is the leading candidate for this job.
On the other hand, the President of the Indiana Pacers Larry Bird has also said that he is looking to contact Brown and Adelman, so that he can determine their interest in returning to the Pacers, where Brown served as an assistant,
before joining the Cavs.
It was Brown, who turned the Cavaliers into the top defensive team of the league and guided them to the 2007 NBA Finals. In 2009, Brown won the Coach of the Year honours as he led the Cavs to a franchise record and league best
66 wins, and then again a league finest in 2010 by achieving 61 wins.
However, after the loss against the Boston Celtics in the 2010 Eastern Conference semi-finals, Brown was fired and subsequently LeBron James departed to Miami after his contract expiry.
Last week it was reported that the Lakers are “more interested” in Adelman and sources also told that Dunleavy has made it into Los Angeles’ short list, since he maintained close relations with Lakers owner Jerry Buss and executive
vice president of player personnel Jim Buss. Dunleavy has also coached the Lakers back in 1990-91at the start of his coaching career and Los Angles made two consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals under his headship.
Last year in March when Jackson was strongly considering retirement before he settled for one more season, Lakers also showed interest in ex-Rockets and New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. However, he is nowhere in the picture
this time around.
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