Another Coach

Jim Buss, son of Jerry Buss of the NBA Lakers, has chosen
the coach that he seems to favor - the 41 year old former
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.
Mitch Kupchak, General Manager for the Lakers
did have a voice in this decision but not evidently
the final say nor was Kobe Bryant consulted.
The elder Buss seems to be fading further and
further into the background on these decisions.
Miami's LeBron James was under the watchful
eye of Mike Brown for 5 years and LeBron says
"I think the Lakers got a great coach with Brown
and in Cleveland we had not earlier been having
success but under his coaching, he gave us
success and it started with his defensive concepts.
He definitely helped me become who I am today".
Brown guided Cleveland to the 2007 NBA Finals
and two trips to the Eastern Conference finals.
Brown was the NBA's Coach of the year after
leading the Cavaliers to a league-best 66-16 record
in 2008-09. He helped guide Cleveland to an
NBA-best 61-21 mark in 2009-10. He was analyst
for ESPN this season and served as an assistant
coach with the Indiana Pacers for 2 seasons before
he went to Cleveland. He also was assistant with
the San Antonio Spurs for 3 seasons and the Washington
Wizards for two. After playing for 2 seasons at the
University of San Diego, he began his career with the
Denver Nuggets. First as a video coordinator and later
as a scout. Never though, has he played for the NBA.
He has continued climbing steadily through the coaching ranks.
On a personal note, Mike Brown was born March 5, 1970
in Columbus, Ohio and attended high school in Wurzburg,
Germany. College was in Mesa Community College and
the University of San Diego. He has a wife, Carolyn and 2 sons.
We are not really 'replacing' Phil Jackson but instead, we
are giving a younger man a chance now to "strut his stuff".
Evidently there is quite an ungodly sum of information on facebook
to find out more about this new younger Laker coach.
Babs Wells