Cleveland, OH

The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-hired Mike Brown as coach almost exactly three years after firing him.

Team owner Dan Gilbert noted that Brown will instill a much-needed defensive-first philosophy as they try to build a championship level team.

Brown, a defensive expert, is the winningest coach by percentage in franchise history, with a 272-138 record in five seasons.

He led Cleveland to consecutive 60-win seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and was named NBA Coach of the Year at the conclusion of a 2008-09 season that saw the Cavaliers go 66-16.

Brown guided the Cavs to the playoffs every year, including its only Finals appearance in 2007, going up against the San Antonio Spurs.

He was let go after the 2009-10 season as the Cavs lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The firing was apparently done as a last-ditch effort to persuade LeBron James to stay, though the forward took his talent to Miami to join the Heat.

After taking a year off to work for ESPN in 2010, Brown was hired by the Lakers in 2011 to replace the retiring Phil Jackson and produced a 41-25 record in the strike-shortened 2011-12 season. He was fired when the team started 1-4 this season.

"I'm happy for him, very happy for him," said James about Brown's re-hiring. "I think he's a really good coach, a very defensive-minded coach. It will be good for those young guys they have."

Although the Cavs also reached out to Phil Jackson and Mike Krzyzewski, it is believed Brown is the only person they interviewed Sunday in Detroit.

The team apparently moved quickly to get to Brown first before other interested teams like Philadelphia and Phoenix made formal offers.

Yahoo Sports reported Brown's contract was for five years and $20 million. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers would get some relief from the salary they owe Brown, perhaps as much as half. Various reports said the Lakers owed Brown between $6.5 and $8 million.

Brown had already decided to move his family back to the Cleveland area so his youngest son, Cameron, could attend Westlake High School.

 

iHaveNet.com