Brownie Points

Brown led the Cavs to
the postseason in all
five season as head
coach.

When the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second-round of this years postseason it left an unfillable hole with the retirement of eleven-time champion head coach Phil Jackson. Who wants to the coach that has to fill those shoes? In an offseason where the Lakers have so many question marks, starting with who will lead this team in 2012, Los Angeles might be that much closer to answering the most important question they are facing after Tuesday night.

    Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown is reported to be the front-runner to land the 22nd coaching job in the City of Angels. Brown, 41, has accumulated quite a resume during his tenure in Ohio. In his five seasons as the Cleveland head coach, Brown preached defense and racked up 272 wins during that time compared to 138 losses.

    Brown, before being fired by Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert following the '10 season, had lead the Cavaliers to the NBA's best record back-to-back years. He also led them to a postseason berth in all five seasons with the Cavs reaching the second-round every time.

    In 2007, Brown's team defeated the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they eventually were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. The Ohio native was named the Coach of the Year in 2009 after posting a 66-16 regular season record.

    Brown coached now Miami Heat forward LeBron James all those years in Cleveland and knows what it takes to handle a superstar caliber player like the Lakers possess in Kobe Bryant.

    With Brown's defensive minded mentality it could ultimately be a good move for Los Angeles as they have struggled in recent years on the defensive side of the ball.

    Former Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman is also said to be in a very good position to land the job. Long-time assistant coach Brian Shaw was thought to be the front-runner most of season, as he was the in house name that was said to be ready for a head coaching job. The Lakers don't seem to think so, as they have let Shaw interview and negotiate with other organizations almost leaving him on the outside looking in.

Kupchak faces a lot of questions this
offseason.

The head coaching job of the Lakers is one of the most coveted in sports and you can be sure general manager Mitch Kupchak will thinking long and hard so this decision is the right one. It has been reported by ESPN's Chris Broussard that a deal with Brown could be struck as early as Wednesday.

    If Brown proves to be the right fit and brings Los Angeles back to the promise land, Kupchak will earn major brownie points from the Laker brass.