You'd think that coaching LeBron James for five years in the superstar's home town would prepare a coach for anything that might come his way in the future.
It didn't quite work out that way for Mike Brown.
Brown had no idea what he was in for when he replaced Phil Jackson as the Lakers' head man. And it had nothing to do with coaching the players or dealing with their seemingly daily madcap adventures. For a man who was once a member of the media himself, he never saw it coming.
"I'd never experienced anything like the media that I've experienced here," Brown said, without the slightest bit of edginess in his voice. "Being in Cleveland with LeBron James (I was dealing with) the national media, but for the most part they just wanted to know about LeBron, whether you win or lose. But (in Los Angeles), there are all sorts of things that can come up at any given time that you have to deal with."
Which included TV analyst and former Laker great Magic Johnson saying that Brown would be fired if the Lakers didn't get past their first-round series with the Denver Nuggets.
"Hey, Magic felt that way and was speaking his mind," Brown said. "The only thing that bothered me about that was with his stature in the community, you might wonder how impactful it would be on my family. I've got two kids in high school, and they had to go to school and hear about this maybe happening. People believed it because Magic said it."
When it was pointed out that at least he was saved from reality show hell when Lamar Odom was traded to Dallas, the former ESPN analyst laughed loudly and said "Yeah, that would have been another new experience for me," sounding relieved that he avoided becoming part of the bizzaro world of those Krazy Kardashians.
Welcome to Lakerland, Mike Brown.
"Don't get me wrong," he pointed out quickly, "I love it here. My family loves it here and I've got a great job coaching the Lakers. It's just that as big as LeBron was in Cleveland, there wasn't the interest on a daily basis that there is here."
If the ex-Cavaliers head coach felt the pressure in his first year here, he rarely showed it. He was as cooperative as a reporter could hope, and when asked a pointed question he usually did his best to give a straight answer, despite the possible consequences. When dealing with personnel decisions involving Metta World Peace and then Andrew Bynum, he spoke with them man to man, then told the media what they talked about — minus some of the more sensitive moments.
His ability to deal with World Peace, Bynum, Kobe Bryant being Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol's sensitivity after nearly being traded along with Odom, was a huge factor in the Lakers putting together a successful season.
They finished with a record of 41-25, winning the Pacific Division and ending up third in the Western Conference. They lost in the conference semis to eventual Western champion Oklahoma City, but overall did a good job under the circumstances of a shortened season, lack of practice time and having to meld personalities he really wasn't acquainted with.
"It was a growing, learning experience for me," said Brown, who was an assistant to Gregg Popovich when San Antonio won the NBA title in 2003. "With the short season and things coming so fast — whether it was the end of training camp, the next practice or the next game — (I) really had to adjust, and adjust on the fly. From a basketball standpoint it was like nothing that I'd ever experienced before. Off the floor, too."
And the fact that he took the reins from one of the most successful coaches in pro sports history, Jackson, who retired after winning 11 championships, just added to the pressurized atmosphere.
"It was definitely a pretty tough situation all around — everything that came up," Brown recalled. "And it was a little tough on us that the team changed right before the season began. Lamar went to Dallas, and we were scrambling to get Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy signed and on the court. So, from that standpoint it changed our team. Lamar was a big piece of what the Lakers did in the past, and trying to figure out how to replace him was something we scrambled to do."
He also had to install a whole new system of basketball to a Laker team that had played the triangle offense for 11 of the previous 12 seasons. Brown is a defense-first coach who believes that defensive schemes are transferrable from team to team, because defense is based a lot on flat-out effort. And the Lakers were extremely effective on defense early, allowing 100 points or more just four times in their first 20 games. Later, they went nine straight without an opponent hitting the century mark.
Offense, though, is something Brown feels has to be adjusted according to personnel. So he felt he had to ask Kobe and his mates to step away from the offense that had brought five titles to LA during Jackson's tenure.
"To be successful on defense, guys have to be willing to commit to giving energy, effort and focus," he said. "Offensively, you have to play a system that works for the players you have, and that takes a little bit more, in my opinion. That's why I think we came out and did so well defensively, but struggled for a while on offense.
"Then things changed a bit. In Cleveland, we had a player in LeBron who we ran the pick and roll with a lot; here we didn't have a LeBron James or a guy who played that way. So we had to keep adjusting how we would play on offense and figure out how to best use the players we had. So, as the season went on, we didn't get to spend as much time on defense as we like, and it hurt us a little."
Nonetheless, the Lakers and their first-year head coach were the third seed in the Western Conference, and took an exciting seven-game series from Denver, nearly blowing a 3-1 lead. But against OKC, they were beaten in five games, despite the fact that with a little smarter play and some clutch moments, Brown feels his team could have beaten the conference champs.
"It was tough," he lamented, "because after the first game I felt we controlled the series. Controlled it, that is, until the last few minutes of the next few games. To see that we had as good of an opportunity that we had, then let it slip away, it was tough to go through. And it was tough to re-watch it, knowing what could have been if we'd just done a few things differently."
Brown did get a little satisfaction from the outcome of the playoffs, with Miami winning and LeBron picking up his first championship ring.
"There are a lot of people out there who may not agree with what I'm going to say," the Ohio native said, "but for him to get a ring, I'm happy for him. He's worked extremely hard for it.
"When people aren't around watching, he's always trying to improve. Yes, he's got a great body and has been blessed with a lot of talent, but he worked very hard on his game to get where he is. I respect that.
"I also respect that I'm sitting here in this seat as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers because of what he did, and what he and I did together in Cleveland together for five years. I thought we had good teams, but when you look at the team he's with now — Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier — those are guys who help make a good team.
"Now, I'd rather it had been us to win it. I'm happy for him, happy for his family, because of what he's done for me and how hard he works."
Of course, Brown now has the privilege of coaching maybe the one player who works even harder than James and is totally focused on winning.
Bryant will be back for his 17th season and in the hunt for his sixth ring. With Steve Nash agreeing to join the Lakers, with Gasol and Bynum returning, the Lakers seemingly have the pieces in place for another legitimate run or two at a title. Due to NBA rules, Brown can't speak about Nash until Wednesday, but he had plenty to say about his other Hall of Fame lock, specifically addressing the feeling that Bryant needs to relinquish control of the ball in order for the Lakers to win it all again..
"Kobe has five championship rings," said Brown," and even though I wasn't here I know that Phil and the media were talking about how the team has to get the ball low and not rely on Kobe as much.
"To me, he plays a certain way and has been very successful doing it. The people around him, playing with him, have been successful as well playing that way. The success he's had with this team has almost been unmatched. With Kobe's ability, to change that drastically would not make much sense. I have a great deal of respect for what he's accomplished and how he's done it."
Brown is also a great admirer of Spurs coach and one-time GM Popovich, who's won four NBA titles. Brown feels what "Pop" has done in San Antonio may be every bit as impressive as what Jackson did in his career.
"Jackson won 11 championships, but he didn't have personnel responsibilities at the same time," Brown said. "What Pop did was amazing. He coached, he put the team together and ran the organization from top to bottom. Now he's got (GM) R.C. Buford running the personnel side of things, but before it was Pop leading the way. And it wasn't just coaching and getting players; he made every one of the people in the organization feel connected to the (success) that was going on. He's one of the greatest basketball people ever."
While Popovich is going after "One for the Thumb" Brown is looking to coach his first NBA champion as the main man. He's hoping the upcoming season — with no labor stoppages and condensed schedule — is the one that brings another ring to Los Angeles. And one to himself as well.
"I'm very excited about having a full year with the team, and the players getting to know me better," Brown said. "And I'll have time to get to know the players better, which will go a long way for us as a team next year.
"I think we have a chance to be really good next season. We weren't all that far away last year."
