BREAKING NEWS: SI.com "two league sources" say Mike Brown has been fired

[CubanMustGo]

more to come no doubt

[ChrisRichards]

YES!!!


Ferry's on the line talking to Mike Woodson now I believe. :rolleyes

[poop]

haha the coaches always take the blame.

[mogrovejo]

haha the coaches always take the blame.

In this case, it's more than fair. His line-ups this series were appalling.

[picc84]

Cleveland getting started on their "keep Lebron" campaign quick as fuck.

[Sausage]

Spurs need to bring back both Mike Brown and PJ Carlisimo as assistant coaches!

[j.dizzle]

LOL Gilbert aint fuckin around, I would be going ape shit if I invested that much money & got a 2nd round exit out of it.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Cleveland getting started on their "keep Lebron" campaign quick as fuck.


Idk about that. Lebron loved Mike Brown because Brown let him do whatever he wanted.

[CubanMustGo]

BTW the cover of the latest dead tree edition of SI - on a week when someone throws only the 19th perfect game in MLB history?

"GOOD OLD SHAQ: Can He Deliver a Ring to the King"? :rollin

[sefant77]

COTY thing never fail

[TheMACHINE]

its mike browns fault. If they had Avery, they woulda definately got to the ECF. If they had Pop, they woulda went to the Finals. And if they had Jackson, they woulda won it all. True Story.

[lurker]

Poor Scott Brooks.

[duhoh]

COTY thing never fail

i hope it doesn't get scott brooks.


Poor Scott Brooks.

beat me to it :lol

[MiamiHeat]

about fucking time.

the guy cannot coach or motivate his team. he is garbage.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Poor Scott Brooks.


:lol no shit. Hopefully Gentry's chances at COY peaked last year and he never wins it.

[jacobdrj]

A day late and a dollar short.

[picc84]

I'd love it if they hired Mike Woodson.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

You can bet they'll hire whoever Lebron wants them to hire.

[poop]

they should hire Pop.

[DJ Mbenga]

so many damn COTY are unemployed. i think espn has 2 on their payroll

[Muser]

Not surprising.

[Shank]

Not a good day to be a black man named Mike.

[jag]

Mike Brown is probably relieved that he doesn't have to put up with anymore Lebron bs.

[JoeTait75]

You can bet they'll hire whoever Lebron wants them to hire.

No, fuck that. We need to stop being that guy's hostage. Hire the right guy and if LeBron doesn't like it he can fuck off to another team. I'm tired of letting this spoiled brat run the show.

[The Gemini Method]

Poor Scott Brooks.

With that team, I don't think you'll see him getting fired any time soon. I do think he is going to be in the top echalon of coaches when he's through coaching. The guy definitely has the talent around him to build a legacy. We Laker fans saw it blooming in the first round.

I work with a die-hard Cleveland sports fan and he and I would go back and forth on the issue of Mike Brown. I thought he should've been fired after last year's ECF debacle. While he is solid on D, he is horrible in creating the right match-ups on the offensive end. It seemed to me, at least, it was iso LeBron...get LeBron in the pinch post...LeBron at the elbow and it became too stagnant. Also, you could tell that Jamison, a playoff neophyte, needed some advance coaching to get his game to mesh well beyond the system. My co-worker, while homer to the end, never believed that. He imagined Brown leading his Cavs to the promise land. I guess I should've seen it coming from a fan who believed Marty Schottenheimer would win a Super Bowl for his beloved Browns...

[DJ Mbenga]

rich bucher says its not accurte. so i think brown is for sure fired now

[Giuseppe]

They ain't gettin' Jackson. They ain't gettin' Pop.

The remainder are clones of themselves.

[Giuseppe]

No, fuck that. We need to stop being that guy's hostage. Hire the right guy and if LeBron doesn't like it he can fuck off to another team. I'm tired of letting this spoiled brat run the show.

Every elite team/almost every non elite team has a spoiled brat running the show. It's the nature of the beast.

[Pero]

its mike browns fault. If they had Avery, they woulda definately got to the ECF. If they had Pop, they woulda went to the Finals. And if they had Jackson, they woulda won it all. True Story.

Well actually Pop never lost in the finals but Phil has. :lol

[JoeTait75]

Every elite team/almost every non elite team has a spoiled brat running the show. It's the nature of the beast.

That's fine as long as said spoiled brat is getting the job done and not laying down in a Playoff series, Cully. AFAIC LeBron has just about used up his capital in terms of saying who, what and when.

I mean, it almost reminds me of that segment in Twilight Zone: the Movie where the kid forces his family to be characters in his own personal video game.

[The Gemini Method]

That's fine as long as said spoiled brat is getting the job done and not laying down in a Playoff series, Cully. AFAIC LeBron has just about used up his capital in terms of saying who, what and win.

I mean, it almost reminds me of that segment in Twilight Zone: the Movie where the kid forces his family to be characters in his own personal video game.

Very good usage of the Twilight Zone...you could also put a tinge of the classic Twilight Zone where the kid can send you to the "cornfield" to describe LeBron's attitude.

Tait...so then if hypothetically LeBron stays (disregard the primmadonna act wearing you thin...), whom would you want as the Cavs' coach?

[baseline bum]

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has a press conference scheduled for 25 minutes from now. Brown's ass is gone.

[scottspurs]

That was quick

[Giuseppe]

I mean, it almost reminds me of that segment in Twilight Zone: the Movie where the kid forces his family to be characters in his own personal video game.

LeBron James gettin' his "Anthony Fremont" on.

Yikes!

[redzero]

So, anybody else want to win Coach of the Year?

[JoeTait75]

Tait...so then if hypothetically LeBron stays (disregard the primmadonna act wearing you thin...), whom would you want as the Cavs' coach?

Veteran coach with championship experience who LeBron would be forced to respect. IOW, Larry Brown.

[baseline bum]

They should get AJ. He'd end that stupid cockiness of their role players ASAP.

[mogrovejo]

Isn't that bravado, JoeTait?

If I were in Gilbert's place, I'd even hire Calipari as a coach and Leon Rose as the GM if that would keep LeBron around. Even more when you can always fire them in the future and LeBron wouldn't just be able to quit his contract and move to another team.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Veteran coach with championship experience who LeBron would be forced to respect. IOW, Larry Brown.

The best and worst thing about Larry is he's always for hire.

[The Gemini Method]

The best and worst thing about Larry is he's always for hire.

The guy can flat-out coach though and he would probably be a great coach for LeBron. He, though I'm not sure if Phil was at all interested in 2004, coached circles around the Lakers in 2004. Imagine LeBron under that guys' tutelage? >shudders<

[PBEEZY]

The Cleveland Cavaliers, fresh off a six-game, second-round loss to the Boston Celtics, have fired coach Mike Brown, SI.com reported Friday, citing two unnamed league sources.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5189101
The Cleveland Cavaliers, fresh off a six-game, second-round loss to the Boston Celtics, have fired coach MikeBrown
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was scheduled to address the media at 2:30 p.m. ET, though specifics of what he was to address beyond the team's ouster from the playoffs were undetermined.

General manager Danny Ferry was to be made available at 4 p.m.

ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher was told by a team source, when asked about the report, that it was "not accurate."

Brown, a year removed from winning the NBA's coach of the year award and three years removed from leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, went 272-138 as coach for the Cavaliers over five seasons, having recorded the best record of the NBA's 2009-10 regular season at 61-21.

[jag]

They should get AJ. He'd end that stupid cockiness of their role players ASAP.

AJ made some stupid moves in the '06 Finals, but the guy is an excellent coach. I doubt he's what lebron wants but he's exactly what the Cavs need.

[mogrovejo]

Windhorst is reporting it's not true, so we'll have to wait.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

The guy can flat-out coach though and he would probably be a great coach for LeBron. He, though I'm not sure if Phil was at all interested in 2004, coached circles around the Lakers in 2004. Imagine LeBron under that guys' tutelage? >shudders<

No doubt. I was agreeing with the Cavs fan that he's the right man for the job and they probably could find a way to get Larry to Cleveland, although his reputation is that he's never a long term solution.

[MateoNeygro]

AJ made some stupid moves in the '06 Finals, but the guy is an excellent coach. I doubt he's what lebron wants but he's exactly what the Cavs need.

"He's not the hero Cleveland wants but he's the hero Cleveland deserves" lol get it Dark Knight??? Lame?

[BlackSwordsMan]

if they fire mike brown lebron should come to the spurs to stick it to the man

[pauls931]

That was quick

I bet he knew he was gone long before last night's game.

[TheMACHINE]

HAHAH Dan Gilbert did a press conference just now and didnt fire him.

[4>0rings]

Cavs majority holder live on BSPN has said right now Brown has NOT been fired. Everything is going to be looked into but no rash decisions after a bad loss.

[mogrovejo]

Windhorst is reporting it's not true, so we'll have to wait.

There it is, Dan Gilbert just denied LeBron was fired.

Larry Brown would be awful coaching LeBron. Larry Brown is great, but sometimes people forget how painful to watch are his teams offenses.

[4>0rings]

There it is, Dan Gilbert just denied LeBron was fired.

Larry Brown would be awful coaching LeBron. Larry Brown is great, but sometimes people forget how painful to watch are his teams offenses.
They were going to fire LeBron!!!! :wow

[Crytek]

What can't Brown do for you?

[ducks]

They should get AJ. He'd end that stupid cockiness of their role players ASAP.

:lol:lol

[Giuseppe]

if they fire mike brown lebron should come to the spurs to stick it to the man

Then you'd have 2 dicks on your team.

[BlackSwordsMan]

the more the merrier
tee hee

[Bukefal]

In this case, it's more than fair. His line-ups this series were appalling.

Well, idk if it's really fair. Because under him and with Lebron, Cleveland has been such a good team. I think it's not about Brown, they just can't handle the pressure in the playoffs. They do so good in the season, also with Brown, and in the playoffs they fuck it up. They can't handle the pressure.

And who should they get now? I think it's over for cleveland.

[Ashy Larry]

you win that coach of the year award, you ass is dead ........

Jerry Sloan hasn't won it yet and has been coaching for 20+ years


Byron Scott, Mike Brown and Avery Johnson wins it and gets axed (Brown's melon is coming off soon)


And is it just me or has anyone else seen all 452 teeth in Mike Brown's mouth when he talks?? Why does dude do that shit with his mouth??

[mogrovejo]

Well, idk if it's really fair. Because under him and with Lebron, Cleveland has been such a good team. I think it's not about Brown, they just can't handle the pressure in the playoffs. They do so good in the season, also with Brown, and in the playoffs they fuck it up. They can't handle the pressure.

And who should they get now? I think it's over for cleveland.

Who are "they"?

Cleveland has been extremely successful in the playoffs. They made a NBA Finals + 2 conference finals. The other time they were beaten in the 2nd round was by the Celtics who won the championship - and they were the tougher opponent Boston faced and the team that came closer to beat them by far.

In fact, people used to say the exact opposite - that they were a team build for the playoffs because their playoff success was generally greater than the regular season success.

I think Brown has done a good job overall, but his coaching in this series was awful and cost Cleveland the chance of fighting for the series. They were a contender with a coach whose decisions made them a non-contender. I can't recall ever seeing a coaching performance as poor as Mike Brown's in that last series. For that, he should be fired; but in any case, I'm fairly sure he completely lost his team - so he needs to go anyway even if you want to give him another chance.

[scottspurs]

So now they are saying Mike Brown will not be fired and will remain Cavs coach. Ric Bucher was right for once.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5189101

[ginobili's bald spot]

if they fire mike brown lebron should come to the spurs to stick it to the man

The only man he'd be sticking it to would be himself.

[Bukefal]

Who are "they"?

Cleveland has been extremely successful in the playoffs. They made a NBA Finals + 2 conference finals. The other time they were beaten in the 2nd round was by the Celtics who won the championship - and they were the tougher opponent Boston faced and the team that came closer to beat them by far.

In fact, people used to say the exact opposite - that they were a team build for the playoffs because their playoff success was generally greater than the regular season success.

I think Brown has done a good job overall, but his coaching in this series was awful and cost Cleveland the chance of fighting for the series. They were a contender with a coach whose decisions made them a non-contender. I can't recall ever seeing a coaching performance as poor as Mike Brown's in that last series. For that, he should be fired; but in any case, I'm fairly sure he completely lost his team - so he needs to go anyway even if you want to give him another chance.

With they I mean first of all LeBron and with him the whole team. I think it's just a pressure issue that they are falling in the playoffs.

[Killakobe81]

its mike browns fault. If they had Avery, they woulda definately got to the ECF. If they had Pop, they woulda went to the Finals. And if they had Jackson, they woulda won it all. True Story.

i dont know if i agree 100% ...beacuse Phil has lost Finals too ...but I agree with the spirit of your post ...

Mike Brown blows chunks!

[Killakobe81]

Who are "they"?

Cleveland has been extremely successful in the playoffs. They made a NBA Finals + 2 conference finals. The other time they were beaten in the 2nd round was by the Celtics who won the championship - and they were the tougher opponent Boston faced and the team that came closer to beat them by far.

In fact, people used to say the exact opposite - that they were a team build for the playoffs because their playoff success was generally greater than the regular season success.

I think Brown has done a good job overall, but his coaching in this series was awful and cost Cleveland the chance of fighting for the series. They were a contender with a coach whose decisions made them a non-contender. I can't recall ever seeing a coaching performance as poor as Mike Brown's in that last series. For that, he should be fired; but in any case, I'm fairly sure he completely lost his team - so he needs to go anyway even if you want to give him another chance.

Great post. But i blame Ferry YES this team under-achieved in the playoffs ...

Ferry brought in Shaq who clogged the lane, Mo who fails in the clutch and added jamison who sucks on defense ...

BUT they over-achieved in the regular season ...so in reality Mike Brown did a GREAT job with this team even though Lebron is the TRUE leader of the team anyway ...

Much like the Celts are led by KG ... Doc is not that great IMHO

Phil & Pop & Riley are the leaders of their teams that is why they have like 18 titles between the 3 ...great coaching + transcendant superstar = title more times than not ...

[Giuseppe]

The rub is the Cavs had this in hand at 2-1, forcing the Celtics into a 3 in-a-row, or, a Game 7 in Cleveland proposition. By God they did the 3 in-a-row without blinking an eyelash.

Something happened. Something exact. A pin dropped. Something. It'd be nice to find out what. In the San Antonio debacle a clear regimen developed in Game 2 and it never went away= Spurs 10 point lead, evaporation, slaughter. In the Cleveland debacle a clear regimen never took place from Game 1 thru Game 6. It was dynamic minute to minute, game to game.

[jonnybravo]

LOL Gilbert aint fuckin around, I would be going ape shit if I invested that much money & got a 2nd round exit out of it.

If that were the case, you'd have turned the entire Mavericks franchise upside down if you were Cuban :).

[Giuseppe]

And the Gilbert fellow talks without his lips moving. He's like Edgar Bergen.

[ChrisRichards]

its mike browns fault. If they had Avery, they woulda definately got to the ECF. If they had Pop, they woulda went to the Finals. And if they had Jackson, they woulda won it all. True Story.
:toast

[anakha]

But i blame Ferry

Looking at the Cavs' lineup when Ferry came in compared to the lineup today, I'd beg to disagree.

[JoeTait75]

Ferry came in with no premium draft picks, two years (2005, 2007) with no first-round picks at all, and he was under constant pressure to win now... or else. He was under the gun from the start, in one of the toughest positions any GM in any sport has been in IMO. All things considered, he's done a fine job.

You want to blame a GM, blame Jim Paxson. He's the one who spent a tenth-overall pick on Luke Jackson, traded a lottery pick for Jiri Welsch and let Carlos Boozer walk for nothing. As far as I'm concerned those blunders were the killers. The Cavaliers never really got over them.

Ferry does deserve blame for saddling Mike Brown with scorers who couldn't defend (Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison) and undermining his bedrock defensive philosophy. Cleveland's defense in this postseason, even in the wins, was Doug Moe-esque.

[poop]

the cavs and the Spurs both need to be blown up at this point. and dallas as well

[Danny.Zhu]

Spurs need to bring back both Mike Brown and PJ Carlisimo as assistant coaches!

Hell yeah.

[jdev82]

The guy can flat-out coach though and he would probably be a great coach for LeBron. He, though I'm not sure if Phil was at all interested in 2004, coached circles around the Lakers in 2004. Imagine LeBron under that guys' tutelage? >shudders<

i think thats what ppl said when AI started off with LB. they could clash, and like scott skiles, LB has been known to burn out players who wont change for him. who knows tho. id love to see it. what id love to see even more is don nelson coach him, because donnie is fuckin crazy. remember when stephen jackson said some mildly offensive comments about him and then donnie played him for 48 minutes in a preseason game(its true, look it up!) and then promptly traded his ass for nothing. now THATS coaching

[jdev82]

Great post. But i blame Ferry YES this team under-achieved in the playoffs ...

Ferry brought in Shaq who clogged the lane, Mo who fails in the clutch and added jamison who sucks on defense ...

BUT they over-achieved in the regular season ...so in reality Mike Brown did a GREAT job with this team even though Lebron is the TRUE leader of the team anyway ...

Much like the Celts are led by KG ... Doc is not that great IMHO

Phil & Pop & Riley are the leaders of their teams that is why they have like 18 titles between the 3 ...great coaching + transcendant superstar = title more times than not ...

yeah doc hasnt shown me anything special. hes a good coach, but its not like he made that team great. he was their coach when they stunk too. its easy to win a ring when you have one of the smartest and most talented cores in the history of basketball. KG PP and RA had a combined 30 years of bb experience. doc was along for the ride while these thirsty motherfuckers macheted their way to a ring

[jdev82]

Ferry came in with no premium draft picks, two years (2005, 2007) with no first-round picks at all, and he was under constant pressure to win now... or else. He was under the gun from the start, in one of the toughest positions any GM in any sport has been in IMO. All things considered, he's done a fine job.

You want to blame a GM, blame Jim Paxson. He's the one who spent a tenth-overall pick on Luke Jackson, traded a lottery pick for Jiri Welsch and let Carlos Boozer walk for nothing. As far as I'm concerned those blunders were the killers. The Cavaliers never really got over them.

Ferry does deserve blame for saddling Mike Brown with scorers who couldn't defend (Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison) and undermining his bedrock defensive philosophy. Cleveland's defense in this postseason, even in the wins, was Doug Moe-esque.

fuck that, blame lebron. he put pressure on the front office to pull the trigger on trades he wanted, and they didnt work out. the only thing that mightve worked was the J kidd deal that never was. i wouldve killed to see them play together. but old shaq? jamison? mo williams? puh-leeeeeeeze

[milkshakeballa]

Ferry came in with no premium draft picks, two years (2005, 2007) with no first-round picks at all, and he was under constant pressure to win now... or else. He was under the gun from the start, in one of the toughest positions any GM in any sport has been in IMO. All things considered, he's done a fine job.

You want to blame a GM, blame Jim Paxson. He's the one who spent a tenth-overall pick on Luke Jackson, traded a lottery pick for Jiri Welsch and let Carlos Boozer walk for nothing. As far as I'm concerned those blunders were the killers. The Cavaliers never really got over them.

Ferry does deserve blame for saddling Mike Brown with scorers who couldn't defend (Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison) and undermining his bedrock defensive philosophy. Cleveland's defense in this postseason, even in the wins, was Doug Moe-esque.

Joe, how influential was Bron's input on personnel decisions? I have heard it was QUITE influential...with him possibly even being the decision maker.

True?

[Ghazi]

the cavs and the Spurs both need to be blown up at this point. and dallas as well

Lebron/Dirk/Kidd needs to be blown up?

motherfucking lol.

dallas will be a force next year.

[ElNono]

I'm disappointed in David Stern. The commish needs to step up his game. Lebron out in the 2nd round? Really commissioner?

[Barfunk]

And is it just me or has anyone else seen all 452 teeth in Mike Brown's mouth when he talks?? Why does dude do that shit with his mouth?? :lol

[JoeTait75]

Joe, how influential was Bron's input on personnel decisions? I have heard it was QUITE influential...with him possibly even being the decision maker.

True?

Very influential. That's why they made so many short-term moves like trading for Jamison and signing Shaq. LeBron put constant pressure on the FO to win now or else- that's the pressure I was talking about.

The tail was wagging the dog from day one when it came to LeBron. I don't blame Danny Ferry for that either.

[Giuseppe]

^^^Nice photo, Joe.

[JoeTait75]

^^^Nice photo, Joe.

I figured you might appreciate it, Cully. I think that's Brian Sipe, third from the right with his back to the field. Robert E. Jackson on the far left. 1980, the Kardiac Kids.

[Giuseppe]

That 30 years went by in a blink.

[duncan228]

Cavs, Brown still together (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-cavaliers-brown)
By Tom Withers

The Cleveland Cavaliers began their offseason review. It didn’t begin with Mike Brown being shown the door.

Brown remained in place as coach on Monday as the Cavs began working on their assessment of what went wrong this season. Cleveland was ousted from the playoffs last week by the Boston Celtics, who upset the NBA’s top regular-season team in six games.

Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and the team’s other decision makers took the weekend off to get away from the emotion of the stunning loss, which could hasten superstar LeBron James’ exit as a free agent.

On Friday, owner Dan Gilbert said his evaluation of the organization— “from top to bottom”—would likely be completed within seven-to-10 days. It’s possible the team will act quickly on Brown, who has guided the team to the postseason in each of his five seasons.

If he’s let go, Brown, who has one year left on his contract, could be quickly scooped up by one of the six other teams looking for head coaches. Cleveland’s assistants also have one year remaining on their deals.

Cleveland’s next move will be an interesting one. Because of James’ uncertain future, it’s possible the Cavs would want his input into their next coaching hire, assuming the two-time MVP is still considering re-signing with Cleveland when free agency opens in July.

If the team fires Brown, it may have to search for a new coach not knowing if James will be back and would have to go into the draft and free agency without a coach.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to surface about James’ plans.

The Chicago Tribune reported that William Wesley, who works with James’ agent Leon Rose, has talked to the Bulls and other teams about packaging James with Kentucky coach John Calipari. James and Calipari have become friends in recent years.

When the Cavs were beaten last week at home by the Celtics, Calipari sat next to Rose in the front row adjacent to Cleveland’s bench.