NBA Rumor: Mike Brown Could Be Out in Cleveland, Pat Riley In?
I don’t think Mike Brown has anyone fooled into thinking he’s a great X’s and O’s coach; you can see that for yourself in any Cavs game you’ve ever watched. He’s clearly a solid defensive coach, but personally, I don’t remember ever seeing him ever draw up a play for his team - that duty falls almost exclusively to assistant John Kuester. And at best, Brown’s offense seems like it’s 90% clear-outs for LeBron, which when you have LeBron James on your roster is fine, to a point. Having very little offensive direction proved to be a killer in the Conference Finals, as the Magic were able to pack it in and bottle up LeBron, and it seemed like Brown had no answers.
It sounds like Cavs ownership and management has taken notice. From RealGM this morning:
Some key members of Cleveland front office feel Mike Brown was badly out-coached by Stan Van Gundy, according to sources.
One source said Cavs management wasn’t only disappointed in the losses, “but equally disappointed in the (two) wins” in a series that went six games.
It is believed that owner Dan Gilbert is among those who thinks the Cavs need an upgrade on the sidelines, while general manager Danny Ferry is standing strongly behind Brown.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News filed a similar report and suggested a big name such as Pat Riley could be possible for the Cavaliers.
One of Riley’s specialties seems to be taking away jobs from successful coaches right when their teams are on the verge of championships, so maybe it’s not that far-fetched….
Source: RealGM
June 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Aj says:
that is messed up! dude just won coach of the year… that should at least buy him 1 more season…sheesh!
June 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am
capnkimo says:
getting rid of Mike Brown is the first thing I thought about after they lost the series…and so the curse of the “coach of the year” awards continues…
June 11th, 2009 at 10:31 am
nerditry says:
Damn, this is exactly the kind of thing Riles would pull, but I think he wouldn’t want that kind of new stressful situation.
If he is Gilbert’s guy, Riley would have both Brown and Ferry’s jobs. Tough part is that I believe he is a part owner of the Heat.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Giacomo says:
you just know that this would be an upgrade. rileys defensive credentials are far better than browns, thrown in some offensive talent, the experience with dealing with superstars and utilising the talent around them.
mike brown has admitted that he has to second-geuss himself as a coach to ensure that lebron is engaged/satisfied with drills plays. i dont believe this is conductive to great success. as an example: in chicago phil jackson had a philosophy (the triangle) that he believed in and gradually sold it to his superstar (jordan). numerous sources have said that at first jordan wasnt crazy about it, but jax persisted and they won 6 chips as a result.
no matter how high lebrons basketball IQ is, it dosnt make him the best coach. Isiah thomas is arguable the greatest pure-point guard of all time with one of the highest on-court basketball IQs of any player–> conversly he is arguable the worst GM-Coach of all time (if only due to the amount of time he languished at the top) as well as the destroyer of the CBA.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Big V says:
Yeah, Brown didn’t look too good in the Orlando series. There were virtually no adjustments being made and his much-lauded defense looked tattered.
Not to disrespect Brown, but I never considered him to be that valuable of a piece considering LeBron did a ton of legwork in terms of running and executing the offense.
But I still think Cleveland needs to worry about upgrading their roster first and foremost before they think about replacing Mike Brown.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:42 am
goonther says:
Riles will NEVER happen … but the news that cleveland could lose Brown makes me the happiest cavs fan on earth.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:42 am
karizmatic says:
Brown is not a good coach, especially on the offensive end. For the Cavs to win a championship aside from getting some more talented players to compliment LBJ, he will have to get fired. Much like Doug Collins got fired in Chicago way back when he was coaching Jordan. Lebron will have to weigh in on this one if Brown is to be replaced though.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:52 am
E$ says:
If Stan Van Gundy wins the finals, does it matter if he outcoached Brown?
June 11th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Rare Air says:
Brown is a weak coach for sure, but you cant hook him after this year. Dude gets one more shot. However Cleveland brass is clearly panicing and knows Bron is gone if they dont close next season. A desperate reach for a guy like Riles to ice a chip is what they are thinking. I dont see Cleveland winning next year with Orlando one year better, a healthy Boston, and an improved Bulls squad. This was Clevelands year to close and they couldnt. Simple as that.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Ballin 305 says:
Riles would NEVER leave MIA. Whoever started this rumor should burn in hell. Go Heat.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Dukesman2000 says:
This does not surprise me at all. Especially, after watching the Eastern Conference Finals and seeing during the dying moments of the game the assitant coach was drawing up plays while Mike Brown was scratching his baldy.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am
dk says:
Yeah, go HEat. Riley’s not leaving for some crap job in Cleavland. What idiots gonna take a one year gig in Ohio anyways? When Bron leaves in 2010 the franchise is ass raped…
June 11th, 2009 at 11:57 am
LakeShow84 says:
If he is fired then the NBA needs to change the voting process.. Coach of the Year fired??
Scratch the whole best record and see who has actually made a CHANGE.. Like i said that man did not deserve coach of shit..
But honestly who will come in and soothe Lebrons ego?? dont forget you make him mad and it’ll add fuel to the New York fire.. So im sure management will stand PAT for now.. even though Mike Brown dont know jack on how to maximize Lebrons potential..
June 11th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Kermit the Washington says:
How about this…Riles is REALLY looking at the Knicks, and takes D’Antoni’s job once ‘Bron shows up. Bron-Bron doesn’t wanna play for D’Antoni anyway, and he’ll use that as a barganing chip.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
matthew says:
Who would they replace him with? Riley isn’t leaving Miami for Cleveland.
This would be a major panic move by the Cavs that would blow up in their face.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
"Tha Boddy" Lies Speak Truth says:
People have been saying for years that Mike Brown is a awful coach and the only reason why he still has a job is because LeBron James through sheer will gets them wins.I bet if a rookie head coach from a D-1 team came to the NBA his Win loss record would favor wins heavily
June 11th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
dk says:
@13 Thats a great point man. Coach of the year is fired, unbelievable BS. MVP too right. Sitting at home watching the Finals…
June 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
liukz says:
coach of the year fired?
it happened to avery johnson and Rick Carlisle
Brown is not even a top 10 coach in the League
Lebron won that for him,everybody knows that
June 11th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Ric Hardwood says:
don’t forget Sam Mitchell…
June 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
liukz says:
yup mitchell too
June 11th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
karizmatic says:
Jerry Sloan should have won coach of the year this year.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
liukz says:
by the way chicago won 6 chips and phil Jackson was coach of the year just once
June 11th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
liukz says:
and 3 more with the lakers
so,jackson won 9 titles and just 1 coach of the year award.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
liukz says:
@ karizmatic
i feel you, he did A GREAT job
June 11th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
fallinup says:
Haha. No surprise here. Mike Brown sucked before the COY and after.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
karizmatic says:
@ liukz, Well I’m saying if they were just going to give away coach of the year honors why didn’t they finally just give Sloan his?
June 11th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Russ says:
…they(broussard) were saying on first take this morning that getting rid of brown is not happening because it would have serious repurcussions with lebron.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
JuiceMode says:
LOL. Curse or no curse, Brown sucked. They should change the COY selection BS
Jerry Sloan started coaching the Jazz in 1989-90 and has never won COY. In the 19 seasons he was there, about 8 of the 19 COY’s have been fired.
In the last 10 years, 5 of the 10 winners were fired, mike dunleavy (POR), doc rivers (ORL), carlisle, avery johnson & sam mitchell
chaney (HOU), lenny wilkens (ATL), del harris (LAL) were the other 3…