All good candidates, and all could have easily thrived in L.A. with the boatload of talent at their disposal. But in the end, none of them were any match for Mike Brown, who swooped in and stole the job from out of the blue on Wednesday afternoon.
Brown arrives in L.A. as a five-year veteran head coach, one year removed from a stint coaching LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's 41 years old — relatively young in NBA head coaching circles — but has already been through the ringer in this league. He's coached at the highest level. He's dealt with the stress of managing a superstar's ego, he's dealt with the pressure of increased media attention, and he's already been deep in the playoffs several times before. He coached his first Finals in 2007.
The Lakers needed to replace Jackson, arguably the most accomplished coach in the history of professional sports. They were never going to find another Zen Master, but they did the best they could.
Brown will be a good Laker. He brings discipline to a team that lost its cool in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs this spring against the Mavericks. He brings an authoritative voice to a loud, opinionated locker room dominated by Kobe Bryant. He also brings a rigorous, defense-first mindset that will keep the franchise competitive as Bryant, Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol get on in years.
According to reports, Brown is now set to make $18.25 million on Los Angeles over the next four years. He's worth every penny of it.
But here's where it gets interesting: The impact of Brown's signing Wednesday reaches far beyond Los Angeles. Now that the Lakers gig, by far the most coveted opening in the league, has been filled, the other open coaching positions around the league can begin to fall into place.
Frank Vogel, currently the interim head coach in Indiana, will likely settle into a permanent position now that Brown is off the market for Larry Bird and the Pacers. Houston has an opening with Adelman gone, and that job will likely fall to former Timberwolves coach and general manager Kevin McHale. Golden State will go in a new direction with Brown out of the picture — the most likely fit there appears to be Lawrence Frank, currently an assistant with Doc Rivers in Boston.
It's one big coaching domino rally, and all the pieces start falling now with Mike Brown's hiring in Los Angeles. The future of the NBA is very cloudy this summer, but after Wednesday, the picture should start to look a little bit clearer.
