The Lakers fired Mike Brown as coach after the team's 1-4 start. Brown was barely a month into his second season with the team, which struggled badly amid high expectations.
Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff coached Friday's game against Golden State but the Lakers will conduct a national search for a long term replacement. Candidates could include Mike D'Antoni, Jerry Sloan, Nate McMillan and Phil Jackson.
It was believed to be the earliest firing of a coach in the team's history. Del Harris was relieved of his duties 12 games into the 1999 season.
The Lakers were 41-25 in Brown's first season, losing to Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs.
The team has had trouble picking up Brown's Princeton-based offense and has also lagged defensively.
-Mike Bresnahan
