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chicot60
11-09-2012, 09:12 PM
L.A. Lakers fire head coach after 1-4 start
[Updated at 4:05 p.m. ET] The Los Angeles Lakers' 0-8 preseason and 1-4 start to the regular season was too much for the front office to take.

The NBA team on Friday fired second-year head coach Mike Brown, whose efforts to implement a new offense and mesh high-profile free-agent signings with stars who won a title two years ago didn't turn into wins.

"Really, it came down to ownership and management looking at the record, looking at the improvement level, and wondering a month or two or three down the road, will we be in the same spot," General Manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters Friday.

Assistant Coach Bernie Bickerstaff will be interim head coach for Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers said in a news release.

The Lakers, just two years removed from an NBA championship, are loaded with high-profile talent with the likes of all-stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, and they added former league MVP Steve Nash and former Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard in the off-season.

But Nash has missed most of the season's early games with an injury, and the Lakers struggled with a complex new offense Brown was implementing.

"I never thought we got to the point where the offense was flowing," Kupchak said. "You could see flashes of it, but we never got to a point (where it was consistent through a game)."

Kupchak said the team's management decided Thursday night to make the move, a days after the Lakers lost a 95-86 game at Utah.

Brown released a statement saying he had great respect for the family of Lakers owner Jerry Buss "and the Lakers’ storied tradition, and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me."

"I have a deep appreciation for the coaches and players that I worked with this past year and I wish the organization nothing but success as they move forward,” Brown said.

Before taking the Lakers job in May 2011, Brown, 42, compiled a 272-138 regular-season record in five seasons as head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.



http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/09/l-a-lakers-fire-head-coach-5-games-into-season/?hpt=hp_t3