TV20 Sports Report
By: Christian Patterson
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s no surprise that Byron Scott was on his way out of Cleveland. With rumors floating around that Scott was on his way out the door during this season it was no surprise to Cleveland fans when Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced that the team released Scott.
I personally have great respect for Byron Scott as a coach and a player. Although Scott was 64-166 during his time as head coach for the Cavaliers, I don’t think he was given a fair chance to prove himself. I always said that Scott was doing the best he could with the talent or lack of talent that the team possessed.
In the search for a new coach the Cavs made two public offers. The long stretch offer I would call it was to Phil Jackson who is interested in making a return to coaching. Jackson would definitely be considered a long shot for the Cavs but why not try.
The second offer was to the Cavaliers previous head coach Mike Brown. Brown had been planning a move back to Cleveland anyway to be closer to his son who will be playing college basketball at Butler next year. Brown who left Cleveland on good terms with owner Dan Gilbert and remains good friends with GM Chris Grant was very excited to be offered a second stint with the Cavaliers.
Brown has been the most successful coach in Cavs history taking them to the playoffs in each of his five seasons, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008-2009 and the Finals in 2006-2007 post season. Brown was named coach of the year for the 2008-2009 season and coached the team to a 66-16 overall record which was the best record in franchise history. Not to mention the Cavs were the first team in NBA history to win 8 straight playoff games by double-digit margins.
Mike Brown is definitely a good coach and he could be what this Cavs team needs because they lack that defensive intensity right now. My only concern in bringing back Brown is that I feel he should hire a good offensive minded assistant coach.
Brown was signed to a guaranteed four-year contract worth approximately $20 million with the organization holding a fifth year option. Welcome back Mike Brown, I hope the second stint with the team can be as successful as the first!
