News from the “what are they thinking?” department broke last night when the Times’ Borderick Turner reported the Los Angeles Lakers have extended an offer to Mike Brown. If Brown accepts the three-year deal he’ll become the man pitted with the impossible task of replacing Phil Jackson.
According to the Times’ report, the deal is worth between $4 and 4.5-million a year with a team option for a fourth year.
Brown’s name crept into the mix over the weekend so it comes as a bit of a surprise that he’s been given an offer this soon. It remains a strong possibility that Brown could be named the new head coach as early as this afternoon though he is still in the mix for the job up north with the Warriors.
My initial thoughts are that this would be a mistake. Brown had plenty of success during his tenure in Cleveland though his teams never came up big on the biggest basketball stage. His defensive prowess makes Brown a hot commodity given the current landscape of postseason hoops.
Still Brown struggled with reigning in LeBron James, instead choosing to give his young superstar carte blanche including allowing sideline dancing and bowing to diva demands. While there are no divas of LeBron proportions in L.A. there is still a definite need to have an authoritative voice in the locker room. I’m not so sure Brown is the man that will gain the respect and trust of a veteran group like the Lakers.
Overall, Brown is a very good coach with a bright future as he is still a young. Though he has made his bones as a defensive coach he lacks the authority of his mentor, Gregg Popovich. We’re still in the preliminary phase so nothing is set in stone. From where I stand, this would be a mistake.