Mike Brown’s second stint in Cleveland didn’t last long.
After a 33-49 campaign where Kyrie Irving didn’t progress, where the Cavaliers offense was ugly and the defense not much better, after a season where the owner had expected to be in the playoff mix, approved mid-season deals for Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes, and still fell short of the postseason in a pathetic Eastern Conference, this shouldn’t be a surprise.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired Mike Brown. Again.
This time it was after one year. The first time it was in a desperate attempt to appease LeBron James but it was too late. They don’t want to make the same mistakes with Irving.
While this comes as a surprise to some people close to the organization thought Brown was in trouble the day GM Chris Grant was fired in February — Brown was his guy. What’s more, Brown was owner Dan Gilbert’s guy and reportedly Gilbert pushed for the hire to happen fast. If true, and if this is Gilbert admitting his mistake and letting his basketball guy make the basketball decisions, then that is a sign of maturity in running the organization.
Removing Brown is the first bold move of GM David Griffin, who just had his interim tag removed. He is trying to set up his team — a team that plays fast, launches threes and is fun to watch (Griffin comes out of the Phoenix school). That’s not a Mike Brown team, he is a micromanager who wants to play slow and control the action on the court with his play calls.
Don’t feel too bad for Brown, he will collect paychecks from both the Cavaliers and Lakers next season — he had time left on both of those contracts.
For the early list of replacements think guys with ties to Phoenix. Alvin Gentry, for one. Yes, Mike D’Antoni for another (although that seems less likely). Another name mentioned is Adrian Griffin, who is Luol Deng’s old coach (and the Cavs would like to keep Deng). Also watch for some up-and-coming college coaches that Griffin thinks can connect with and mold a young team lacking chemistry.
