The first change of the off-season happened in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ organization last night when coach Mike Brown was fired after five seasons in the job.
Brown led the Cavs to The Finals in 2007, and also to the league’s best overall record in the regular season the past two seasons, winning 66 and 61 games. However, he could not parlay that regular season success to the post-season, as his team was ousted in the conference finals last season, and in the second round this season.
That’s the ultimate reason Brown lost his job.
The coach came here with a defensive mindset he learned from Gregg Popovich in his time as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, and he changed the identity of the wine and gold into a defensive team. That emphasis paid dividends as the Cavaliers extended the defending champion Pistons to a seven game series in the second round during Brown’s first year.
The following year, the Cavs upset the Pistons in the conference finals earning the franchise its only appearance in the NBA Finals.
After a loss in the second round in 2008 to the eventual champion Celtics, Cleveland needed to upgrade its talent base, particularly at the offensive end. Mo Williams was the first piece brought in, and he was the first player acquired who wasn’t a particularly good defensive player.
In the end, Brown couldn’t integrate Williams, and later Antawn Jamison into his defensive schemes, and that caused his downfall as a coach.
The reason is he couldn’t integrate either into an offensive game plan as well.
Maybe LeBron James wouldn’t let him, but regardless, Williams and Jamison were never as effective with the Cavs as they were with their previous teams, particularly Jamison, who has been a 20 points and 10 rebounds guy throughout his career.
Fault can be found with Brown about his use of other players brought on the roster by GM Danny Ferry, most notably Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. Both players are solid on the defensive end, but either weren’t used correctly used on the offensive end (Parker) or hardly used at all (Moon).
There could be other reasons that we don’t know about, but the bottom line is the Cavaliers were favorites to win a championship the past two years, and didn’t even get to The Finals in either season. When that happens, the coach usually loses his job.
The unfortunate thing about firing Brown is the Cavaliers really cannot search for a successor until they know what LeBron James is going to do. His presence on the Cavs’ roster makes the job more desirable for the elite coaching candidates, such as Phil Jackson (should he not be back with the Lakers) or Mike Krzyzewski.
The potential to play for a title immediately would be there.
If James goes elsewhere, owner Dan Gilbert and Ferry are looking at a rebuilding project, hopefully, a short one. That means they would be looking for an assistant from another team, somebody who can teach and emphasize defense. Somebody like the guy they just jettisoned.
Therefore, a new coach will not be named soon.
In the end, like all coaches, Brown was a victim of his own stubbornness. He didn’t realize his offensive philosophy was archaic, and wasn’t willing to try something else. He will get another job because he is a good defensive coach, and defense helps teams compete night in and night out.
It’s part of being a head coach. If you have a team that has championship aspirations, and you don’t win, you lose your job. It’s not fair, it’s just part of the gig.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 