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 According to ESPN.com, Mike Brown has agreed to a four-year, $18.25 million deal to become the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So, is he a good fit? While there will be differing opinions, I think this could work. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown focused on defense, and they began to identify themselves as a defensive team, which propelled them to the league's best record in back-to-back seasons. Obviously, the Lakers aren't worried about winning in the regular season, but Brown can try out various schemes during this time. Once he figures out what works best, the Lakers could head into the postseason with some momentum. Once in the postseason, Brown has proven that he can be successful. He brought LeBron James and the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2007. Brown helped lead them past a very good Detroit Pistons team, before being steamrolled by the superior San Antonio Spurs. While it isn't an overwhelming track record, a Finals appearance is a good thing to have on a resume when you have to coach superstars. Now Brown will be coaching another superstar. Brown was somewhat able to manage James, and now he is going to be responsible for managing (arguably) the biggest star of the past 15 years—Kobe Bryant. There were mixed reviews about how well he managed James in Cleveland. Obviously, the offense relied too heavily on James' play, but he didn't have much else to work with. Now, Bryant is in the tail-end of his career, and has much more talent to play with than James had in Cleveland. Brown needs to develop an effective, team-oriented offense to be successful in the West. He called countless pick and rolls for James in Cleveland, but that won't necessarily work in Los Angeles. He probably won't keep the triangle offense that Phil Jackson ran, but he may use some variation of it. If he is able to find a way to combine these offenses, the Lakers could become a more unpredictable and dangerous team. In doing so, the Lakers could, once again, become the team to beat out West. Brown has proven that he is a good coach, which is why I believe he has the full capacity to lead the Lakers back to an NBA Championship.
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