Coach back in Cleveland but with Warriors
CLEVELAND, Ohio — When Mike Brown happily slid into his normal seat to the left of coach Steve Kerr for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors were whole again.
Brown has moved before — not always so willingly — and over the next few days he’ ll return to a familiar place.
The Warriors’ well-liked top assistant, whose first two stints as a head coach were to nurture a young LeBron James and then pamper Kobe Bryant, is heading to Cleveland, the city that shaped him more than any other.
It’s where he was hired twice and fired twice by the Cavaliers, who are paying him until 2020. It’s where he raised his two sons. And it’s where he still has a home and keeps one of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which he took for cruises along Lake Erie to clear his mind.
“He loves those Harleys,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green. “That just means he has one in every city he goes to. It’s an addiction.”
When Game 3 of the Finals tips off on Wednesday night, with the Warriors holding a 2-0 lead, Brown will be back in a building where he and James appeared in their first Finals together 10 years ago.
In 2007, the Cavs were no match for the powerful San Antonio Spurs, who overwhelmed Cleveland and swept the series. Brown can surely appreciate the irony in coming back as part of a juggernaut.
“Circle of life,” Brown said. “Everything comes back around, I guess.”
Brown’s Finals debut must seem like a lifetime ago for the 47-year-old, who guided the Warriors to an 11-0 mark this postseason while Kerr battled intense pain stemming from back surgeries.
“My guy did OK while I was gone,” Kerr said before the Warriors won Game 2 on Sunday.
During last year’s Finals in Cleveland, Brown met with Kerr about joining the Warriors staff and replacing Luke Walton, who was bound for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The interview came before the Cavs rallied from a 3-1 deficit, and before Kevin Durant announced he was headed to the Bay Area.
After he was fired for the second time by the Cavs, Brown stepped outside the coaching circle, choosing instead to watch oldest son Elijah play hoops at New Mexico and filming his other son Cameron’s Friday night high school football games.
Brown’s willingness to accept an assistant’s job despite 563 career regularseason wins and 47 in the playoffs underscores his humility.
While he hasn’t strayed from preparation and the attention he learned growing up in a military family, Brown has shown a willingness to change. He has loosened up.
Borrowing philosophies from other coaches, Kerr has created a loose atmosphere, believing a less-structured environment allows the Warriors to perform more freely and effectively.
“I remember the first few practices, me and Mike, we were new guys and we were looking at each other like: ‘This is how it goes down here?’ ” Durant said. “So it was an adjustment for both of us.”
If things had gone differently, Brown might still be Cleveland’s coach. Given only one season on his return, he was dismissed despite a ninewin improvement and a colossal jump defensively. He still had four years left on his contract.
Last week, Cavs All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said he wished his time with Brown had gone better.
“I was a 21-year-old kid, just trying to lead a franchise, and he was a new head coach. I had to get introduced to a new offense, new players, as well as a new system,” Irving said.
“He was just trying to teach me a lot of things that I didn’t necessarily understand as a 21-year-old. He definitely has some great ideas and a knowledge of the game that’s up there with the great coaches.”
With his track record, Brown might soon be in demand again.