After a 1-4 start to a season filled with high expectations-and dreams of the NBA Finals-the Los Angeles Lakers fired Mike Brown Friday.
The firing comes only a week into the new NBA season and barely a month into Brown's second year, during which the Lakers went winless in eight preseason games and lost three out of their last four games.
"This was a difficult and painful decision to make," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday morning in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "Mike was very hard-working and dedicated, but we felt it was in the best interest of the team to make a change at this time. We appreciate Mike's efforts and contributions and wish him and his family the best of luck."
Kupchak offered more detailed statements later, ESPN Los Angeles reported.
" Mike is a good man. Very hard working, maybe one of the hardest-working coaches that I've ever been around," Kupchak said. "The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace that we expected this team to win and we didn't see improvement. We wish Mike well and we're sorry it ended this way. So, we've decided to move in another direction and make a change."
Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will take over as interim coach for Friday night's home game against the Warriors, ESPN reported.
The Lakers made the biggest moves of any NBA team this past offseason when they acquired All-Star center and megastar Dwight Howard in a major four-team trade and signed two-time NBA MVP point guard Steve Nash in free agency to put them alongside their franchise player Kobe Bryant and four-time All-Star forward Pau Gasol. With a roster of that caliber, the Lakers have been expected by many to reach the NBA Finals, at minimum, and compete for the world championship.
However, in the last several games, the Lakers have struggled mightily, ranking 19 out of the league's 30 teams in points allowed (98.8), 23rd in assists (19.6), and 13th in points scored (97.2) on their way to a 1-4 record for the first time since the 1993-94 season, according to ESPN stats.
The Lakers finished last season with a 41-25 record before falling in the playoff semifinal round to the eventual Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder, 4 games to 1.
"I have great respect for the Buss family and the Lakers' storied tradition and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me," Brown said in a statement afterwards. "I have a deep appreciation for the coaches and players that I worked with this past year and I wish the organization nothing but success as they move forward."
Kupchak told reporters Friday afternoon that the team's brain trust, which consists of Kupchak, Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss and executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss, has already put together a list of potential replacements.
A source told ESPN that among those being considered for the job are former Lakers and Bulls coach Phil Jackson, former Knicks and Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, longtime Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, former Blazers coach Nate McMillan and ex-Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy.
On his Facebook page, Bryant spoke on the firing, calling it a "tough day."
"I've seen coaches as well as friends come and go. No matter how many years I've been playing, it's still hard to deal with. I had a good relationship with Mike and I will continue to have one. I wish him and his family nothing but the best. I spoke with him today and thanked him for all of his hard work and sacrifice," Bryant wrote.
"As a team, we must focus our energy on tonight's game. We must block out the weight of today's news and simply do our jobs to the best of our ability.
"I'm not sure what direction we are heading in next. All I can do is focus on the here and now. Mamba out," he concluded.
In a video interview caught by ESPN, Lakers player Metta World Peace offered his thoughts.
"The Lakers organization is a winning organization. It's very competitive," "You've got to think positive for Mike Brown. He's not the first coach to be fired in the history of sports athletics and not the first employee to get fired. It's okay, he made a great living, big contract, the Lakers got a lot of championships. It's positive, everything is positive, it's just something that happens."
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