Los Angeles Lakers fire Mike Brown; Phil Jackson and Mike D’ Antoni favourites to succeed – NBA Update
It was only two days back when Lakers’ boss Jim Buss backed coach Mike Brown publically. Then there were rumours that a relatively easy six home will be an acid test for the former Cavaliers coach, and if he carries the team through it, he will keep his job.
But, somehow in the last 48 hours or so, the front office managed to weed out Brown. Under Brown, the Lakers failed to win any of the pre-season games and were 1-4 this season(the worst down West), and although the Lakers and Kobe Bryant backed him publically, according to the sources close to the team, there were growing concerns about the direction in which the team was heading;
"Today we relieved Mike Brown of his head coaching duties with the Los Angeles Lakers. Mike is a good man. Very hard working, maybe one of the hardest-working coaches that I've ever been around," general manager Mitch Kupchak said while confirming the rumours which had gripped the Lakers nation and NBA. "The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace that we expected this team to win and we didn't see improvement. We wish Mike well and we're sorry it ended this way. So, we've decided to move in another direction and make a change."
Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will take over on an interim bases, and it is believed that Phil Jackson and former Knicks coach are the front runners to land the job. While Jackson is the man who Brown replaced, D’Antoni’s name has cropped up due to the presence of Steve Nash in the Lakers lineup. It was the combination of Nash and D’ Antoni which once made the Phoenix Suns a formidable threat in the league, and a re-union of this pair can very well spark the Lakers, providing them with an furiously aggressive offensive coach at the same time.
There are also rumours that the Lakers will interview Jackson’s former assistant Brian Shaw, who was a popular head coach choice before the franchise bosses preferred Brown. Shaw is presently serving as an assistant to Indiana Pacers’ Frank Vogel and the Lakers will need to attain permission for the interview to happen. According to reports though, they have not done so.
Whatever the case is, the franchise is expected to appoint a new coach by early next week as it is understood that Bickerstaff has agreed for the interim role for a very short while.
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