Los Angeles Lakers Hire Mike Brown: 5 Reasons New Hire Will Cancel the Lake Show
The Los Angeles Lakers held a press conference on Tuesday to make it official: Mike Brown will be the 22nd head coach of their storied franchise and the 18th in Los Angeles era.
Brown signed a contract just moments before the announcement and made one thing very clear: It's time for change in Laker-Land. The question is, is change necessarily a good thing?
With that in mind, let's take a look at five reasons why Mike Brown's hire will cancel the Lake Show...
5. He Is Offensively Challenged
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The Lakers' scoring as a team has decreased for four consecutive seasons now, and the hiring of a defensive specialist like Brown isn't likely to buck that trend.
Brown was often criticized in Cleveland for his "one on five" half-court offense where he seemingly just gave the ball to LeBron James and told him to make a play.
It will be interesting to see how a Los Angeles fanbase that vividly remembers the "Showtime" era will react to a team that is playing games in the 80's and 90's.
4. He Can't Win in the Playoffs
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Sure, we know Brown can win in the regular season, he went a combined 127-37 (.774%) in last two seasons in Cleveland, but only a combined 42-29 (.592%) during his five-year playoff career.
Despite securing the No. 1 seed in 2009 and 2010, Brown was unable to get past the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009, losing to Orlando, and losing to the Celtics in the 2010 semifinals.
The Lakers and their fanbase are very accustomed to postseason success. But will Brown be able handle that type of pressure and reverse his recent postseason fortune?
3. His Offense Does Not Fit the Lakers Personnel
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The Lakers are a veteran-laden (polite word for old), half-court (polite word for slow), cerebral (polite word for unathletic) team. They've been running the triangle offense for over a decade, which has prevented teams from exposing their weakness at point guard.
Barring any unforeseen blockbuster trades, which would be highly unlikely considering their current financial situation, the Lakers' current personnel (especially at point guard) is really not suited to run anything BUT the triangle.
Does it really make sense to teach a team that is built to win now an entirely new offense when they've had so much success with their old offense?
2. He Doesn't Have Any Ties to LA: Not an "LA Guy"
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The Lakers had every opportunity to hire an "LA Guy," assistant coach Brian Shaw was supposedly waiting in the wings to replace Phil Jackson at season's end, yet, the Lakers brass went with Brown.
Shaw represented exactly what the Lakers needed—a fresh start, a new, young coach looking to prove himself on basketball's biggest stage. He also would have paved the way for a smooth transition by continuing with the triangle offense and keeping the current coaching staff mostly intact.
Will Brown be able to win over veterans like Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, both of whom publicly endorsed Shaw as the successor to the Zen Master? Speaking of the Black Mamba...
1. He's Already Alienated One Superstar...
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The Cavaliers essentially fired Mike Brown in a desperate attempt to keep LeBron James from leaving Cleveland. His feuds with LeBron were not exactly a well kept secret, as James publicly questioned both Brown's substitution patterns and his offense.
As far as Kobe is concerned, Brown did have this to say in today's press conference: "This is still his team. Kobe is Kobe. He has five titles and is one of the greatest ever. His role will not change. We'll make sure he'll have the ball in the sweet spots he likes to have it."
The question is, when the Lakers are faced with their first true test of adversity, will we still believe him?
