Mike Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Rumors: Brown, Gilbert, Assistants

April 21st, 2013 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

A majority of Hoops Rumors readers don't believe Phil Jackson will consider coaching the Cavs, even though a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Jackson would "absolutely" listen if the team called. While the Zen Master is far and away the biggest name associated with the team's search, there are plenty of other candidates, and there's news on several of them this morning:

The team has had informal conversations with former coach Mike Brown about a reunion, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, who passes along a report from WKYC-TV in Cleveland that Brown and owner Dan Gilbert will meet Sunday.
A source tells Finnan that Brown would be the top choice for the Hawks if they decide to make a coaching change. That's no surprise, given the ties between Brown and Atlanta GM Danny Ferry.
The Cavs aren't expected to discuss the opening with any college coaches, and the hiring process will move swiftly, according to Finnan.
Finnan adds Melvin Hunt of the Nuggets and Michael Curry of the Sixers to the list of assistant coaches who may receive interviews, which already included Michael Malone (Warriors), Brian Shaw (Pacers) and David Fizdale (Heat).
The Cavs will indeed interview Shaw, just as they did when they hired Byron Scott in 2010, reports Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer.
Flip Saunders, Nate McMillan and Avery Johnson have all either directly or indirectly expressed interest in the position, Pluto also writes.
The Cavs have a chance to make an impression on Kyrie Irving with their coaching hire, so that means much is riding on the team's decision, opines fellow Plain Dealer scribe Bud Shaw.

Mutual Interest Between Mike Brown, Cavs?

April 19th, 2013 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 11:30am: The Cavs may move quickly to court Brown, in an effort to get ahead of other teams that may have interest in hiring him, a source tells Boyer.

THURSDAY, 8:33pm: Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer says that although Brown hasn't been contacted by the Cavs, he would listen if they called:

"If anybody calls, you have to listen…. I'm not rushing to get back to [coaching]. Whether it's the Cavs situation or anybody else, it has to feel right for both sides…. If they call, I wouldn't hang up the phone. I'd definitely listen to what anybody has to say. But then you have to decide if it's the right situation for myself, my family and the organization.''

3:54pm: Former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown could be a top candidate for the newly-vacated head coaching job in Cleveland, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reports the same thing, writing that there appears to be mutual interest between Brown and the Cavs for a potential reunion.

Although he notes that there are plenty of other contenders, Amico points out that Brown is moving back to the Cleveland era, is the sort of defensive-minded coach the Cavs are seeking, and is still a favorite of GM Chris Grant. According to Windhorst, the decision may end up depending on Brown, since the ex-Lakers coach has told those close to him that he's unsure whether he's interested in returning to coaching yet. Brown still has two years and $8MM remaining on his Lakers contract, so he doesn't necessarily need to return to the NBA next season.

Windhorst reports that the Cavaliers are expected to contact several possible candidates in the coming days, with Amico listing a few specific names that may interest the club. Among them are current assistants David Fizdale (Heat), Brian Shaw (Pacers), and Michael Malone (Warriors).

Byron Scott was fired by the Cavs earlier today after three seasons with the team.

Coaching Rumors: Suns, Pistons, Raps, Sixers

April 18th, 2013 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Two teams have already made coaching changes today, as the Cavaliers parted ways with Byron Scott and the Sixers announced that Doug Collins won't be returning as head coach. There could be a few more spins on the coaching carousel before the day is done, so let's round up the latest….

ESPN.com's Marc Stein gets the sense that the Suns will take their time to make a decision on the future of coach Lindsey Hunter, who is not assured of returning (Twitter link). According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Hunter didn't fare well in his end-of-season player evaluations — "players don't want him back," one source tells Berger.
It sounds as if Lawrence Frank is on the way out in Detroit, but he won't officially learn his fate until he meets with Pistons owner Tom Gores today, tweets Stein. Berger hears that one reason Frank wants his fourth-year option picked up if the team brings him back for a third year is that his wife has been ill, so he's reluctant to make a commitment to Detroit if the club isn't committed long-term to him.
The situation with Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman figures to take a couple weeks to be resolved, according to Berger.
Berger adds that Dwane Casey's job with the Raptors appears to be safe for now.
Although he acknowledges that the Sixers could replace Collins internally, John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer expects the team to interview several coaching candidates, including perhaps Mike Brown, Nate McMillan, Stan Van Gundy, Brian Shaw, and Michael Malone.
Tom Sorenson of the Charlotte Observer is at a loss in trying to determine whether or not the Bobcats should bring back head coach Mike Dunlap for next season.
According to GM Chris Grant, the Cavaliers' search for a new coach will begin immediately (Twitter link via Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio).

Odds & Ends: Prigioni, Hawks, Kupchak, Bonner

January 20th, 2013 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here's news from around the league on a busy Sunday, with one month and a day to go before the trade deadline:

The Knicks would have offered Pablo Prigioni a contract long before last summer if former coach Mike D'Antoni hadn't been so doubtful of the Spanish leaguer's foot speed, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reveals.
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer sees plenty of complications to any return of LeBron James to the Cavs.
If Hawks GM Danny Ferry decides to change coaches over the summer, Quin Snyder and Mike Brown would be early favorites, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).
There's speculation Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak could lose his job if the team doesn't make the playoffs, writes Bob Finnan of The News Herald. Finnan rounds up the week's rumors from around the league, and chronicles the rise of agent Rich Paul.
Players union vice president Matt Bonner shared his reaction to a law firm's report about its investigation into the organization's practices, and said he's not interested in succeeding Derek Fisher as union president, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News recounts.

Western Rumors: Cousins, Brown, Iguodala, Fisher

December 6th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Chuck Myron

A matchup of fourth-place teams, as the Mavs travel to take on the Suns, is the only Western Conference tilt on a two-game night in the NBA, but the action off the court is much juicier. We delivered the latest on the Pau Gasol saga earlier this morning, and now here's more from the West.

Slumping as he begins his third season, DeMarcus Cousins is nonetheless coveted by several teams around the league, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that the Kings remain uninterested in trading the 22-year-old center.
Mike Brown, still owed $10MM from the Lakers after the team let him go just five games into the season, tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he'll eventually get back into coaching, but is in no rush.
Andre Iguodala, who can exercise an early-termination option this summer, is a safer bet to remain with the Nuggets than Carmelo Anthony was as his deal neared an end, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com, after examining all the other options, believes the Mavs' signing of Derek Fisher was sound (Insider only).
The Blazers have already declined their 2013/14 option on Luke Babbitt, but they might have to give him another look as an unrestricted free agent next summer now that he's jumped into the rotation, observes Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson reached out to Carlos Delfino during the summer and touted the ability for the Argentinian swingman to play a significant role with Houston, helping convince him to sign with the team. Jason Friedman of Rockets.com has the details.

Western Notes: Rockets, Lakers, Clippers, Harden

November 13th, 2012 at 11:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

When Hoops Rumors unveiled its predictions for this season, all of us picked either the Lakers, Thunder or Spurs to come out of the Western Conference, and tonight two of those teams clash as the Spurs look to down the Lakers and run their early-season record to 2-0 against other Western contenders. The Spurs were a conference-best 6-1 coming into tonight, their only blemish a loss to the Clippers, who would love to leapfrog their L.A. rivals into the contending group. Here's the latest on the Tinseltown rivalry and other items out of the West.

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald lays the blame for Royce White's latest absence on Rockets executives, tweeting that the team is led by "a bush league front office without a soul."
The notion that Phil Jackson will wind up with the Clippers is a "conspiracy theory you can expect to now hear a zillion times this season," tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the rise of the Clippers played a role in the Lakers' decision to fire Mike Brown.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander hopes new star James Harden will attract others to Houston, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I know it helps," Alexander said. "Even in the brief time I’ve been around him, he always talks, I just spoke to that guy, I just spoke to that guy. He speaks to a lot of major players in the league. It’s a big plus. How big, you really don’t know.”
Perry Jone s III admits he isn't as comfortable now as he was in the preseason, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks isn't alarmed by the rookie's subpar performance in his limited regular season minutes, as The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry chronicles.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is "very pleased" with what he's seen out of recent signee Troy Murphy so far, observes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Danny Ferry Gives Backing To Larry Drew

November 10th, 2012 at 2:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hawks GM Danny Ferry attempted to defuse rumors that he would like to bring fired Lakers coach Mike Brown aboard to replace Larry Drew after Drew's contract is up at the end of the season, saying that he's committed to working with his current coach, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

"Mike is a good friend and I have great respect for him as a coach but I am fully engaged with Larry and our partnership," the GM said. "I have enjoyed our process together so far and think we are building a positive foundation."

Brown was coach of the Cavs when Ferry was GM in Cleveland, and the team's parting of ways with Brown in 2010 was the main reason behind Ferry's departure from the Cavs two weeks later, as Vivlamore points out. Drew declined comment on Brown's firing Friday. The Hawks exercised their 2012/13 option on Drew's contract before Ferry took over as GM this summer, though Ferry reportedly agreed with the team's decision to do so.

Reaction To Mike Brown Firing

November 9th, 2012 at 9:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

As the focus of the Lakers switches from what happened today to what happens next, a number of NBA reporters and other figures are weighing in the team's decision to fire Mike Brown, a move that many saw coming, but not quite as quickly as it came. Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth takes it as a sign of panic, and writes that the Lakers can't afford to make a mistake with their next hire. Michael Lee of The Washington Post concludes the task of replacing Phil Jackson was simply too daunting for Brown to handle. Here's what others are saying.

HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler hears Brown was seen as "too nice" and reluctant to address problems, adding that the directive to fire Brown came from the top down, without player influence. He also believes Jackson is the clear-cut top choice, and isn't sure Jerry Sloan would be a fit (All four Twitter links).
The Buss family concluded that Brown wasn't a championship coach, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who argues that Jackson, who has won more titles as a coach than anyone, is the perfect fit.
Kobe Bryant released a statement of support for Brown on Facebook, and Royce Young of CBSSports.com praises the gesture.
Grantland's Zach Lowe examines the on-court issues that fomented the Lakers "ludicrous" decision to let Brown go today.
Mark Cuban believes the firing was a mistake, but for the sake of his Mavericks, he hopes it's the first of many miscues by the Lakers this season, as Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com passes along.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News characterizes the move as one of desperation that raises fundamental questions about the future of the organization.
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel says the Lakers aren't going to hire Stan Van Gundy, but thinks they should, calling the former Magic boss "the best NBA coach available" and citing cooled tensions between Van Gundy and Dwight Howard.

Mitch Kupchak On Mike Brown’s Firing

November 9th, 2012 at 6:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke to reporters about the team's decision to fire coach Mike Brown today, saying the team didn't want to wait for the team to break out of its funk only to find out that it wasn't going to happen. He shared lots more insight, as Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld transcribes. We'll round up the highlights here.

On the timing of the decision:

“It wasn’t made out of panic. We were aware of this team’s progress through training camp and the beginning of the season. Only yesterday did we come to the decision to make a change. Obviously, everyone in this room knows we went 0-8 in the preseason, which doesn’t mean a whole lot, but we are 1-4 now. It didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s something that’s out there that we talked about internally, continuing to support Mike. But after our loss to Utah we came to the decision this morning to make a change.”

On why the move wasn't made after last season:

“I would say it was an incomplete evaluation. What he went through last season wasn’t really fair. Making a trade that fell apart, one of the players has moved on – Lamar Odom – and the other player was scarred for a complete season. Then we made another trade as we approached the trade deadline to get a younger ball-handling point guard. And we did no worse than we did the year before. It’s tough to grade him, plus on top of that it was a (lockout)-shortened season. So on top of that it’s tough to give a coach a grade. Maybe you call it a free pass for a year and let’s see how we do this year.”

On whether Dwight Howard's free agency next summer had to do with the firing:

"(It was) not something that was discussed between the three decision makers. Obviously we know he’s a free agent this summer and you want to make the experience for him as good as possible, but we have a lot of other people we’re trying to please as well, we have a lot of fans and players, it’s not just about one person.”

On selecting a replacement:

"The sooner the better. We don’t have a timetable. … The reality is you can’t call around and gauge coaches' interest in this job; in the fraternity that exists, a coach wouldn’t say he was interested as long as someone has the job so we haven’t even begun the search, but we do have a list that we’ve put together and we will go through that list in an orderly fashion."

Lakers Fire Mike Brown; Considering D’Antoni?

November 9th, 2012 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

1:54pm: The Lakers have officially sent out a press release announced their decision to dismiss Brown.

"This was a difficult and painful decision to make," said GM Mitch Kupchak. "Mike was very hard-working and dedicated, but we felt it was in the best interest of the team to make a change at this time. We appreciate Mike’s efforts and contributions and wish him and his family the best of luck."

Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Lakers will ditch the Princeton offense, which was a major factor in the team's decision to replace Brown.

12:36pm: Bernie Bickerstaff will coach tonight's game for the Lakers, but the team will conduct a national search for Brown's replacement, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game tweets that one candidate, Mike D'Antoni, recently had knee surgery and is laid up for six weeks. According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports though, that wouldn't stop D'Antoni from taking the job if the Lakers wanted him (Twitter link).

12:27pm: The Lakers have "made it clear" that buying out the remaining $11MM+ on Brown's contract and investing in a new coach won't be an issue, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

12:19pm: A Lakers assistant, likely either Bernie Bickerstaff or Chuck Person, is expected to assume the head coaching reins on an interim basis, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Ken Berger of CBS Sports also throws Steve Clifford's name into the mix, though he says Person has the edge (Twitter link).

12:15pm: Mike D'Antoni has been a "prominent name" discussed by the Lakers as they consider Brown's replacement, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

12:02pm: The Lakers have fired head coach Mike Brown, a source tells Sam Amick of USA Today. Brown's agent Warren LeGarie confirms to Amick that the Lakers head coach has been dismissed.

A report earlier today suggested that a poor showing on the Lakers' upcoming homestand would jeopardize Brown's job. However, after a 1-4 start to the season, the 42-year-old won't even receive the opportunity to coach the first of the team's six upcoming home games tonight against the Warriors.

The move comes less than 48 hours after Brown received the "dreaded" vote of confidence from executive VP Jim Buss, who suggested the team would exercise patience when evaluating the coach's performance. While a new coach has yet to be named, it doesn't seem as if the Lakers would make such a move without a replacement in mind, as Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets.

The decision to let Brown go just five games into the season comes as something of a shock — despite the early-season struggles, I would have guessed the Lakers would give Brown at least another week or two to right the ship. And Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that GM Mitch Kupchak was pushing ownership to do just that, encouraging the team to give Brown more time before firing him. However, making an change early in the year rather than waiting until later in the season should give the players plenty of time to adjust to the new coach's system and style.