Mike Brown Adds Quin Snyder, Jim Boylen And Maybe Chuck Person To Coaching Staff

• almost 2 years ago
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Lakers Coaching Staff To Include Quin Snyder And Maybe Chuck Person

The Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff seems to be nearing completion as Mike Brown gets settled into his new position.

Brown will bring in one of the smartest basketball minds available in Quin Snyder as well former University of Utah coach Jim Boylen, according to ESPN's Ric Bucher. Chuck Person is also said to have an offer on the table to remain in the same role he held under former Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Snyder has previously served as an NBA assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers from 1992-1993 as well as this past season with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he's more known for his time as a college coach at Mizzou. Snyder also spent a few solid seasons as the head coach of the D-League's Austin Toros.

Boylen spent the last four seasons at Utah, but actually has quite a few years of experience as an NBA assistant with the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Michigan State.

According to Bucher, Brown's staff on the bench would include former Pistons coach John Kuester, Boylen and Person along with former Moscow CSKA coach Ettore Messina and Snyder behind the bench in advisory roles.

• about 2 years ago
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Lakers Hire Of Ettore Messina Should Help Mike Brown's Offense

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Lakers Hired Mike Brown Before Warriors Had A Chance To

The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t the only team with coaching vacancies to express an interest in hiring Mike Brown, but they’re the team that landed him, for multiple reasons. In a radio interview with Petros and Money, the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year said the Lakers job “crossed my mind” throughout last season, when he knew Phil Jackson would retire." He referred to Los Angeles as “a storied program,” which adds to the Lakers’ appeal.

Indeed, the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets both discussed their openings with Brown, who says “I was down the road a little ways with Golden State” before the Lakers stepped in. “They moved rather quickly to get an agreement between myself and them,” which is why the Warriors find themselves without a head coach after firing Keith Smart, while the Lakers are set for the next three seasons, and perhaps four, should they exercise their final-year option on Brown’s contract.

• about 2 years ago
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Matt Barnes Urges Lakers To 'Buy In' To New Coach Mike Brown

The Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes attended the press conference introducing Mike Brown as the Lakers’ new head coach, and he spoke to Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN Los Angeles about the hire. During the chat, Barnes gave his impressions of Brown and dispensed advice to his teammates on how to ensure they succeed in his presence.

Unlike most Lakers, Barnes has a relationship with Brown. As Kamenetzky explains, Barnes almost signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent when Brown was still coaching there, so he’s had a fairly recent opportunity to discuss hoops with his new boss. “He seemed like a really good guy,” Barnes told Kamenetzky. “What he does and what he’s going to do [as Lakers coach], that’s yet to be determined.”

Barnes urged his teammates to “buy in to” Brown’s philosophy. “If we do that, we should have a really good team.”

That’s a key point. Phil Jackson, whom Brown replaces, had incredible clout. The man won 11 championships as a coach and two more as a player, and thus commanded respect. Brown, in contrast, has yet to win a single Finals game as coach; the San Antonio Spurs swept his Cavs four seasons ago in his lone appearance. If Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, to whom Barnes referred as “the greatest player in the world,” openly dismisses Brown, his teammates may follow suit, which could spell disaster for Los Angeles.

• about 2 years ago
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Mike Brown Shows Promise In His Introductory Press Conference

Mike Brown was formally introduced as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, and by all accounts he did very well in his first opportunity to make an impression the the assembled Los Angeles media. Brown touched on the two most important bases. He showed respect to Phil Jackson, and the foundation of what hopefully develops into a good relationship with Kobe.

Brown was sure to talk about what an incredible job Jackson did, but also made it very clear that he should be judged on his own merits, not how he stacks up against Jackson's. He also mentioned a conversation he had with Kobe, saying that they had touched base on a few things other than basketball. You never know with Kobe, he might not be able to get on board with a coach he wasn't consulted about when hired, but Brown made it sound like he is going to make building that bond a big priority.

Our Lakers blog Silver Screen And Roll was pleased with what they saw from Brown, but they also said that it would take more than a few words at a press conference to completely win them over.

Front to back, it was a polished presentation. Brown didn't seem ill at ease in front of a big city press corps, but then again, they weren't throwing 98 mile-an-hour cheese this afternoon. Today was just batting practice. Facing the heat after his first three-game losing streak will be something else entirely, and he'd be well advised to delay that press conference as long as possible.

Brown did well on Tuesday, but an introductory press conference is sort of like the Summer League. You can show flashes of being good, but judgement will ultimately be made on how he performs during the regular (and in the case of the Lakers, post-) season.

• about 2 years ago
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John Kuester Could Join Mike Brown's Lakers Coaching Staff, If Pistons Fire Him

Among Mike Brown’s first tasks as new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is to assemble his assistant-coaching staff, and reports say he could find an ally in Detroit Pistons head coach John Kuester. Broderick Turner began the speculation Friday, when he reported Brown “is interested in” hiring Kuester, who served under him for two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Days later, ESPN.com reporter Ric Bucher filed a story saying the Pistons will fire Kuester, though word Monday, via the Detroit Free Press, is that Kuester is still the Pistons’ coach. SB Nation Detroit has more on that angle in this Kuester-centric StoryStream.

Under Brown, Kuester served as an “offensive coordinator” of sorts, handling some aspects of offensive preparation while Brown focused on the defense. In his second and final season with Kuester in this capacity, the Cavaliers boasted the league’s fourth-best offense, averaging 112.4 points per 100 possessions. The Pistons hired him away that summer, and he’s yet to duplicate those results as a head coach without a player nearly of LeBron James’ caliber leading the way on the court. His coaching record stands at 57-107 (.348) and his teams have never finished better than fourth in the Central Division. Worse, he has clashed openly and repeatedly with his players. Based on the overwhelming evidence, Sean Yuille says it’s “likely” the Pistons will fire Kuester upon the completion of their sale to Tom Gores.

Prior to joining Brown in Cleveland, Kuester served as an assistant under Larry Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers and later with the Pistons. Upon leaving Detroit as an assistant after the 2003/04 season, Kuester led a nomadic assitant-coaching life, moving from the New Jersey Nets to the Sixers again to the Orlando Magic.

With all that said, Silver Screen and Roll is optimistic Kuester can still succeed as an assistant coach: “Kuester might be one of those guys who doesn’t have the chops for a head job but can still work magic as a coordinator,” writes Dexter Fishmore, who helpfully points us in the direction of this NBA Playbook post about how Brown—and Kuester, should he join him in L.A.—might use Kobe Bryant, based on how he/they deployed LeBron in Cleveland.

• about 2 years ago
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Mike Brown Will Be Introduced As New Laker Head Coach At 3 P.M. On Tuesday

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Mike Brown to be their new head basketball coach. That much we know. How he will handle the pressure of coaching on what is arguably the NBA's biggest stage, following one of it's greatest coaching legends, remains to be seen. The first step in that journey begins on Tuesday, when the Lakers will introduce Mike Brown as their new coach in a press conference at 3 p.m..

You can find the press conference streaming live on Lakers.com, but if you can't do that, I'm sure that Twitter will be a good source for any breaking comments that Brown makes.

We'll also be covering the press conference in this stream, and will have some of his more relevant quotes for you as they happen. But for more on the Lakers, and some more fan-centric reaction, head on over to Silver Screen and Roll. It might not have been the coach we were all expecting, but the Mike Brown era starts today.

• about 2 years ago
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Jim Buss Admits Lakers Should Have Consulted Kobe Bryant Before Hiring Mike Brown

Technically, players don't really have any say over personnel, and even coaching decisions that a team might make. But there are certain players that have some sort of, let's call it influence, over the decisions that a front office would make. If you were going to put together a list of the players that had that right, it would be headlined by Kobe Bryant.

That's why it was so surprising that Kobe didn't seem to know really have any say in the Lakers hiring of Mike Brown. Well VP Jim Buss admitted in an article by Reid Cherner of USA Today that the Lakers made a mistake in not asking Bryant for his opinion, but that he feels like Brown is still a good fit for the Lakers.

"Looking back on it, we should have contacted Kobe," Buss says. "Kobe said it was management's job to pick a coach. He just said, 'Defense first.' That's what we were doing, but we should have reached out to him. . . The way Mike impressed the three of us, I would think Kobe would be impressed as well," he says. "Mike is a workaholic and Kobe is the workaholic."

We'll see how Kobe reacts once he has a chance to really get to know coach Brown, but I can't imagine that he'll be too strongly opposed before Brown has a chance to take the team through at least one season.

• about 2 years ago
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Mitch Kupchak (Kind of) Walks Us Through Decision Making Process Of Mike Brown Hire

A large contingent of Lakers fans and NBA analysts may still somewhat be in shcok by the hiring of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown as Phil Jackson’s successor, but sooner rather than later, LA fans in particular are going to have to try to warm up to the hire. One thing that I don’t believe will help Lakers fans get to that point is listening to Mitch Kupchak explain the decision process of identifying and hiring Brown as the best available candidate for the job.

On Thursday, Kupchak joined The Dan Patrick Show to talk about the hiring process — from why Brian Shaw wasn’t targeted as Jackson’s replacement, what they saw in Brown that convinced them he was the best candidate, who else was on their radar, Kobe Bryant’s involvement (or lack thereof) in the hiring process what the future of the Triangle offense might be in LA, to name but a few of the topics discussed by DP and the Lakers’ GM. Here’s a few excerpts from the conversation courtesy of SB Nation site Sports Radio Interviews.

On why the Lakers chose not to hire Brian Shaw:

“It’s not so much that we chose not to hire Brian because he’s not qualified, I think our feeling going into it was we just felt we needed a new voice with this team. The old staff had been with us for almost 11 years, and we didn’t end the season as strongly as we had hoped, and we just felt it was time for a change. Brian is a very qualified individual, he’s going to be in the NBA for many, many years, and he may end up being the Lakers coach one day. But we didn’t feel it was the time right now.”

Did they try to reach out to Bryon Scott?

“The only coaches that we reached out to — potential coaches — were coaches that did not have ties or contracts with other teams.”

What about Rick Adelman?

“I don’t want to go through the list, but Rick was on our list of considerations. He’s an extremely qualified candidate, and if we ended up with a coach like Rick Adelman, that would have been a great choice as well.”

What it was about Brown that jumped out to him and the rest of the Lakers brass who decided to hire him:

“Well as I said at the beginning of the interview, a new voice was something we felt was important at this time for our team. He certainly has great experience at the NBA level coaching with Rick Carlisle in Indiana, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, and then he was the head coach in Cleveland for seven years (editor’s note: it was only five years) and had great success. So we feel we got somebody who’s got a great pedigree, good experience at the head coaching level. You know, the interview itself was very upbeat. You don’t judge a candidate by his interview; you look at his whole body of work, which is what I just mentioned. But I will say, the interview, he came through as a very energetic and enthusiastic person. I read some things in the last day or two that ‘the Triangle is gone.’ That’s not true. A lot of the stuff that Mike runs is a derivative of the Triangle, and he’ll have some things that are unique to him. So that’s what jumped out at us.”

Was Brown a unanimous choice amongst the three of them?

“Yes he was.”

• about 2 years ago
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Lakers Hire Mike Brown To Mark Clean Break From Phil Jackson Era

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Mike Brown's Lakers Coaching Staff Could Include Current Assistant Chuck Person

The Los Angeles Lakers have made it clear that Mike Brown is not their new head coach quite yet, but that hasn't stopped those in the media to speculate on his potential coaching staff in Los Angeles.

Among those currently being mentioned by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski and Fox Sports' Sam Amico  include current Lakers assistant Chuck Person (currently up for a couple of head coaching jobs himself), the excellent Tim Grgurich (spent this season in the Dallas Mavericks organization), Mike Malone and John Kuester. 

Kuester (currently on the hot seat as the Detroit Pistons head coach) and Malone(who spent this season with the New Orleans Hornets) were Brown's assistant coaches with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Those names are all highly respected in the basketball industry, and would be great to have on Brown's staff, but there's one small problem being bantered about: Money. Wojnarowski says Brown still doesn't have budget for hiring assistants and, with the Lakers cutting costs, it remains a question who's affordable for staff.

• about 2 years ago
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Lakers Release Statement, Have 'An Outline For An Agreement' With Mike Brown

While seemingly everyone is reporting that Mike Brown to the Lakers is a done deal, the team would like to remind us that nothing is done...yet. Brown has a reported four-year, $18 million deal in place to take over for Phil Jackson. However, the team released a statement on Wednesday afternoon regarding its coaching vacancy:

"In response to rampant speculation and reports about our head coaching position and Mike Brown, we’ve met with Mike and are very impressed with him. In addition, we have an outline for an agreement in place and hope to sign a contract within the next few days."

Brown, 41, coached LeBron James for five years in Cleveland, going 272-138 (.663) with the Cavaliers. He reached the NBA Finals in 2007, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in four games.

For more news on the Mike Brown signing, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For more news, information, and analysis of the Lakers, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.

• about 2 years ago
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Mike Brown Is The Lakers New Coach, But Kobe Bryant Has No Comment

The Los Angeles Lakers went ahead and hired Mike Brown to follow in the now-retired Phil Jackson's footsteps despite having Brian Shaw, already endorsed by Lakers' superstar Kobe Bryant, versed in the Lakers way.

That's sure to draw the ire of some, especially those hoping things would stay largely the same as they have been in the past, including -- apparently -- Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was reached Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times, but apparently didn't have much to say. In fact, he didn't have anything to say.

People familiar with Kobe Bryant's thinking said that the All-Star guard was confused by the decision.

When reached Wednesday by The Times about the Brown hire, Bryant had no comment.

Bryant said earlier this month that he would be comfortable with Assistant Coach Brian Shaw getting the job because of Shaw's overall knowledge of the franchise, the triangle offense and, of course, the players.

Hopefully this doesn't boil over into anything too big, especially considering Bryant didn't say anything, but it doesn't look good from the outset.

• about 2 years ago
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Magic Johnson Weighs In On Lakers Hiring Mike Brown To Replace Phil Jackson

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Lakers Hire Coach Mike Brown: What They're Writing

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Kobe Bryant 'Surprised' By Lakers' Mike Brown Hire, According To Report

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was “surprised” to learn of Los Angeles’ decicion to hire Mike Brown as head coach, Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reports. While the “surprised” portion of Amick’s story will draw plenty of attention, as will the fact that “[Bryant] was not a part of the decision-making process,” there is certainly more at play here.

For one, surprise is not the same as disappointment, and nowhere does Amick say Bryant did not like the hire, though he does say Bryant was “staunch” in his support for longtime assistant coach Brian Shaw, a former teammate of his, to get the job.

Further, Brown’s reputation as a defensive-minded coach jibes with what Bryant has publicly stated is important. Amick quotes Bryant from his final media availability session of the season:

“If you’re building a championship team, your DNA always has to start with the defensive end of the floor,” Bryant said on May 11. “Always. I’m a firm believer in that. I don’t believe in building a championship team on offense. It has to be built on defense and rebounding. Period.”

From a defensive standpoint, Brown will likely get the most he can out of the Lakers’ considerably talented roster. The real test will come at the offensive end, where Brown is far weaker. Late in his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he often ceded playcalling duties to assistant coaches John Kuester and Mike Malone, who served as “offensive coordinators” of sorts.

For more news on the Mike Brown signing, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For more news, information, and analysis of the Lakers, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.

• about 2 years ago
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Lakers' Deal With Mike Brown Reportedly Worth Up To Four Years, $18 Million

Anyone who watched the Lakers get dismantled by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals realized that the Lakers needed to improve on defense if they want to get back to winning championships. The coach they are apparently about to hire fits that mold, as former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is apparently about to become the Lakers head coach. The deal is believed to be either four years, or three years with an option, worth between $4 million and $4.5 million per season.

"If Brown agrees to the deal, he'll sign a contract worth between $4 million and $4.5 million per season, the official said," said Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. "Brown would sign for three years, with a team option on the fourth season that would give him partial pay if he was not retained." CSNBayArea.com reported the deal at four years, $18 million.

What's interesting here is that the hiring was spearheaded by executive VP Jim Buss, and not general manager Mitch Kupchak. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated said, "The move is believed to be driven by Jim Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president of player personnel and son of owner Jerry Buss, whose role was expected to increase with Jackson's departure." Turner also noted Buss preferred Brown's defensive style.

For more news on the Mike Brown signing, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For more news, information, and analysis of the Lakers, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.

• about 2 years ago
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New Lakers Coach Can Expect To Take Paycut

It probably already went without saying that whomever the Lakers hired to replace the retiring Phil Jackson as head coach would not earn as much as Jackson, who drew an eight-figure annual salary. But now we know for sure. The Lakers, who have the NBA’s highest player payroll, expect to pay their new coach between $3 to $5 million annually, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. As Bresnahan notes, that figure still represents an increase over the league-average coaching salary of $2 to $4 million.

The reason is simple: the Lakers need to cut expenses before the anticipated labor lockout next season. Coaching isn’t the only area management is trimming:

The Lakers have already informed more than a dozen employees from their scouting department, athletic training staff and video department that their contracts will not be renewed.

It’s a negative outcome for those employees, to be sure, but the Lakers, as always, are operating from a position of strength relative to other teams. They can afford to jettison salary this way, by letting support staff go, rather than by trading important players away for pennies on the dollar. That’s a reality other teams will face.

On the other hand, if even the Lakers need to cut back, this lockout is serious.

• about 2 years ago
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Phil Jackson Reiterates Decision To Retire From Coaching

It was a tough way to end a Hall of Fame career, but Lakers' head coach Phil Jackson reiterated that Sunday's 122-86 blowout loss to the Mavericks in Dallas was his final game as an NBA coach. The Mavericks stunned the Lakers in their NBA Western Conference semifinals series, sweeping the two-time defending champs in four games. Jackson won 11 NBA championships in his 20 seasons as coach, and yesterday's loss made for only the sixth time that Jackson didn't reach the conference finals.

Jackson was asked after Sunday's game if he was done as a coach, and the Hall of Famer invoked the famous last words of a former U.S. President. "Yes, this is in all my hopes and aspirations that this is the final game that I'll coach," Jackson said. "This has been a wonderful run. I go out with a sour note after being fined $35,000 this morning by the league, so that's not fun having a feeling like I've been chased down the freeway by them. But as Richard Nixon says, 'You won't be able to kick this guy around anymore.'"

Jackson won 1,155 regular season games in his 20 seasons, an average of just under 58 wins per year. In addition to the all-time record 11 NBA titles, Jackson holds all-time NBA records for playoff wins (229) and playoff winning percentage (.688). Jackson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

For more news and information on the Lakers and their coaching situation, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.