http://www.probasketballnews.com/story/?storyid=554 June 11 2009 Cavs' front office divided over status of coach, sources say By Sam Amico Pro Basketball News CLEVELAND - Could this season's NBA Coach of the Year be looking for a job before the start of next season? It sounds ridiculous but it just might be the case for Cleveland's Mike Brown, according to several sources close to the situation. The Cavaliers' front office has reportedly been in disarray since the team was bounced by Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals -- despite finishing with a league-best record of 66-16 and possessing NBA MVP LeBron James. Some key members of the organization feel Brown was badly out-coached by Orlando's 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. One of the Cavs' victories came on a remarkable last-second 3-pointer by James at the buzzer, another when the offense consisted of James getting the ball at the top of the key and pretty much going one-on-one against the entire Magic defense. In all three home games, the Cavs surrendered leads of at least 16 points, including advantages of more than 20 points on two occasions. None of the sources would allow their names to be used, and only one agreed to be quoted. The latter referred to Brown's game plan as "junk," and used that word several times to describe the offensive philosophy in Game 5 of the East finals -- a 112-102 Cavs victory. Another source who refused to be quoted implied Brown doesn't know how or simply is not willing to open up his offense despite having weapons like James and Mo Williams, and to a lesser degree, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West. Three sources contacted by Pro Basketball News agreed that the Cavs' offense ran smoothly at the beginning of the season, but too often lacked ball movement and cohesiveness against elite teams such as Orlando, Boston and the L.A. Lakers. The Cavs finished a combined 5-9 against those three (including the playoffs). They went 3-6 against the Magic -- with all three wins coming down to the final minute, or in the case of Game 3 of the East finals, the final shot. Brown's forte has always been defense, "but when the defense wasn't working against Orlando, he had no idea how to put pressure on them (with offense)," one source said. Yet another source -- who did not express an opinion on Brown's coaching ability and also refused to be quoted -- said Brown turned over the offense to assistant coach John Kuester early in the season, but may have taken back control later in the year. No specific reason was given for such a possibility. That source also indicated there is a faction in the front office, but refused to go into detail. It is believed owner Dan Gilbert is among those who thinks the Cavs need an upgrade in the coaching department, while general manager Danny Ferry is standing strongly behind Brown. Interestingly, Gilbert hired Brown several weeks before Ferry was named GM in 2005. The New York Daily News speculated the Cavs may have an interest in former Lakers and Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, currently president of the Heat. Riley won five championships with the Lakers in the 1980s, and led the Heat to a title in 2006. He also guided New York to the Finals in 1994. "If Cavs owner Dan Gilbert were to decide to make a big, bold coaching move, that would certainly enhance the club's chances of re-signing LeBron James," wrote Daily News NBA reporter Frank Isola. Isola added, "It would cost Gilbert a King's ransom to pry Riley away from South Beach but think about the money Gilbert would make the in the next five years. More importantly, it would ensure the club of re-signing LeBron. (We all know Riley isn't coming unless he is certain that LeBron is staying.) The same would be true if Phil Jackson or Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who coached LeBron at the Olympics, joined the Cavs' bench." Gilbert contacted Jackson before hiring Brown, but the current Lakers' coach was not interested in the job. Gilbert was also said to be pursuing current Charlotte coach Larry Brown for a dual role as coach and GM in 2005. In four seasons with the Cavs, Mike Brown has compiled a 211-117 regular-season record (.643) and 36-24 mark (.600) in the playoffs. He led the Cavs to the Finals in 2007, where they were swept by San Antonio. One source said some Cavs' decision-makers privately believe the team should have won at least one title by now, and that while Brown has implemented a good system, he "is not a good game coach, especially at making in-game (adjustments)." Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.
And that's why Coach of the Year doesn't mean ISH! It's a popularity contest....until you start losing. RA deserved it.
I know what you mean, never mind the fact his team had the best record. The team was exposed by Orlando for their deficiencies in the front line. if they want to fire him for that, so be it.
i agree completely with the parts of the article describing brown's shortcomings. giving lebron the ball at the top of the key and letting him go 1 on 5 is not coaching. he showed zero creativity on the offensive end and he can't beat teams that have equal or better talent that his own, because he wins with better players and with defense. when good coaches counter his defense he has no other cards to play. glad to see this undeserved COY get exposed
I don't know if Mike Brown is a good coach or not. Seems good to me, but whatever. What I do know is that Cavs really don't even have one player besides Lebron that I would like to have on the Rockets. Delonte West and Mo Williams are decent players that look a whole lot better because of the King. Varejo and Ilgaskus are bench riders. Ben Wallace, Booby Gibson and Wally World should not even be in the NBA. To me it seems like they seriously need player upgrades rather then coaching. What exactly had Doc Rivers accomplished before getting KG and Ray Allen? Change the front office who has failed to surround Lebron with good players in the last six years.
That coach of year should have gone to bron. Brown is an ok coach, but getting the finals with that 1 on 5 offense is going to be hard to replicate.
and just think, the guy got to the Finals with a younger Lebron and a lessor supporting cast. he may not be the best offensive mind, but he has gotten all he could out of that team. that's all you can ask for in a coach
There are alot more coaches in the league are worse than Mike Brown. Brown is not the best coach, of course. But if they fire him, whom they want to replace him with? Flip Sanders? JVG? They are not going to guarantee Cavs will have more playoffs success than Mike Brown does
I don't hate him, but he did a HORRIBLE job coaching in the ECF. Yes, I realize that it was a matchup nightmare and that a lot of the Cavs players did not shoot well, but here were some things I noticed... They never mixed up their defense on Howard. Not once did they try a "delayed double team", something that LA has done and has worked. They never even tried playing a zone defense...not that I ever saw. In fact, the entire series, they doubled Howard (a guy with a poor low post game outside of dunks and a spotty free throw shooter) every time and let Orlando shoot wide open 3's all series long. NEVER changed it up. Not once....even after it killed them over and over again. Uh, how about drawing up an occasional play or two? I understand that you have arguably the greatest player in the game on your team, but how about doing something other than watching him play one-on-five? One other thing I noticed in the series was that the Cavs never took advantage of the "2 for 1" at the end of halves. Not once, and I can recall at least 3 or 4 times where they had that advantage, but they didn't seem to understand. I realize Orlando is a good team and that a lot of the role players played terribly, but coaching hurt them. SVG outcoached Mike Brown big time in that series. Brown never made any adjustments (unless you consider subbing Boobie Gibson in for Delonte West a major adjustment)
I don't hate him at all. I'm sure he's a great guy. But it's pretty obvious that he has some severe shortcomings. He never should have been COY. Cavs had absolutely no adjustments whatsoever. Their offense was in shambles when you took LeBron out of the equation. Their defensive decisions were highly questionable at best against the Magic. Not so big a deal when you play in the East or have to go through Detroit and Atlanta on the way to the Finals. When they faced a good team (say, Houston, LA or Orlando) it was a much different story. Even the Cavs recognize this, otherwise this story would not exist.
Who are they going to get to replace him? Avery Johnson? Jeff Van Gundy? Firing him would be a mistake. The Cavs made undeniable strides in their offense this year, but they reverted to bad habits against elite teams. Who's fault is that? They didn't have the right personnel to match up well against Orlando. They didn't have any sort of post up presence, outside of LeBron. Mo Williams, the second option on the perimeter, flat out stunk. Who was Mike Brown supposed to be running plays for? Wally Sczerbiak?
finally, they are starting to realize mike brown is not a championship level coach. this should have been done years ago when lebron took them to the finals, proving he's ready to win now. that's when they should've made the change to a championship level coach.
and who exactly are these so called "championship leve" coaches? zen master - not available pat riley? doc rivers? not available and winning with kg, pierce and ra is no big accomplishment popavich - not availabe van gundy - lol flip saunders - lol avery johnson - lol
No idea...but perhaps a coach who, in a 7 game series, decides to make at least one defensive or offensive adjustment. Can't be too hard...
