LOS ANGELES Mike Brown followed an 11 time NBA champion coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, taking charge of a roster packed with aging talent and a franchise anticipating more titles.
And after just 71 regular season games,
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Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced the surprising move several hours before the club hosted Golden State,
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"The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace we expected this team to win, and we didn’t see improvement,
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Los Angeles began the season with sky high expectations after trading for centre Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, adding two superstars alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. But the Lakers went 0 8 during the preseason last month for the first time in franchise history before stumbling into the regular season with an 0 3 start, losing to Dallas,
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After finally beating Detroit last Sunday for their first win, the Lakers looked listless again in a loss at Utah on Wednesday, dropping to last place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles’ defence has been largely poor,
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"They either weren’t getting it,
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With a combination of an aging core of talent and a massive payroll,
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"We’re not looking five or 10 years down the road," Kupchak said. "This team was built to contend this year. There’s no guarantee that this team can win a championship, but we feel that it can be deeply in the hunt. We’re also aware that our players . are getting older, so our feeling is that we can contend at this level for another couple of years."
Bickerstaff said he was "shocked" by Brown’s firing,
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"We have a professional obligation to come to work and do our jobs," Bickerstaff said. "The emotional part of it has to be set aside. . I just don’t want the guys looking over at the bench tonight. I want them to go play and have some fun. You can’t make a multitude of changes in six,
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In his brief news conference, Kupchak did nothing to squelch speculation Phil Jackson could return for a third tenure with the Lakers. The 67 year old Jackson walked away from the club in 2011 with few apparent hard feelings, and his health has markedly improved after knee replacement surgery during his time away from the NBA.
Kupchak said he hadn’t reached out to any candidates for the job, but thinks it’s likely the Lakers will hire an experienced coach who isn’t currently working. Jackson still spends most of his time in Los Angeles,
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"When there’s a coach like Phil Jackson, one of the all time greats, and he’s not coaching, I think you would be negligent not to know that he’s out there,
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Mike D’Antoni also is a likely candidate for the job, given the former Phoenix and New York coach’s ties to the Lakers’ roster. Nash enjoyed a long stretch of success in D’Antoni’s up tempo offence with the Suns, winning back to back MVP awards, and Bryant was a big fan of D’Antoni as a player while he grew up in Italy.
Brown, the longtime Cleveland Cavaliers coach, was hired in May 2011 to replace Jackson, signing a four year deal worth roughly $18 million. Kupchak said the eight figure payout they’ll have to make on Brown’s contract wasn’t a factor in their decision.
"It’s a pretty direct message to all of us," Gasol said while leaving the Lakers’ shootaround Friday morning in El Segundo. "There’s no messing around. It’s time for all of us to step it up."
Bryant, in his 17th season with the Lakers, posted his thoughts on Facebook after shootaround.
"Tough day," Bryant wrote. "I’ve seen coaches as well as friends come and go. No matter how many years I’ve been playing,
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Brown’s players all were fully behind him in public,
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Yet the Lakers had given no indication they might demolish their coaching staff until Kupchak gathered the players Friday morning to inform them of the decision.
While Lakers fans reacted with their usual panic whenever the 16 time NBA champions lose a few games in a row, Kupchak and Buss publicly appeared to stand firmly behind Brown,
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"I have great respect for the Buss family and the Lakers’ storied tradition, and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me,
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Coaches reacted with surprise around the league after Brown’s dismissal was announced. He is thought to be the first NBA coach to make it fewer than six games into a season since Dolph Schayes left the Buffalo Braves after one game in 1971,
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"When you see one of your coaching peers, part of your fraternity, not getting an opportunity, it’s tough,
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Boston coach Doc Rivers said the firing was "awful," noting he had similar feelings when Orlando fired him following a 1 10 start in late 2003. Pistons coach Lawrence Frank sarcastically suggested five games "was enough of a sample" to judge the Lakers, saying he thought Brown "would have done a great job."
"Look, all of us in coaching understand the drill, so it’s not a sympathy card," Frank said. "You just really wish for anyone that you’re given a legitimate shot."
Along with the usual urgency accompanying any Lakers season, Howard is under contract for just one more season before the six time All Star centre can become a free agent. The Lakers’ core players around Howard are all over 30, and the 38 year old Nash barely made his debut before getting sidelined.
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