With the team off to a disappointing 1-4 start, the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown today.
Los Angeles Lakers fire Coach Mike Brown. (Keith Allison/Flickr)
“This was a difficult and painful decision to make,” Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “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.”
Brown, whose ouster was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by the Los Angeles Times, was in his second season as the team’s coach.
Last season, he led the team to a 41-25 regular-season record and an NBA Western Conference semi-final loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers went winless in the preseason this year and then went 0-3 to begin the season before splitting the past two games.
Rumors swirled this week of a rift between Brown and superstar Kobe Bryant over the team’s play and apparent difficulty in adapting to Brown’s new
offensive strategy.
Video of Bryant glaring at Brown during Wednesday’s road loss to the Utah Jazz — described in some media circles as a “death stare” — fueled speculation that Brown’s job may be in jeopardy.
The Times reported that assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
On his Twitter page, Lakers legend Magic Johnson wrote, “Feel bad for Coach Mike Brown, who’s a great guy, but don’t think he was the right guy for the job in the first place.”
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