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Is Mike Brown a good hire for the Los Angeles Lakers?

There are several factors indicating he is the right guy for the job. One of those factors comes in form of a question, who else could L.A. hire? There's not a whole lot to choose from on the market. The choice came down to Byron Scott who many thought was a shoe in to replace Phil Jackson, Rich Adelman who is a proven winner and Mike Brown.

The obvious choice was the right choice in Brown to answer that question.

Then there's the question of what the Lakers need. In 2010 they looked soft defensively because they were. It appeared they had this inner notion they would just win because they have been winning for years. Because Kobe would make the shots and Pau would be Pau and step in for a few timely points and rebounds when needed. Well Pau, like Lamar Odom have both been targeted throughout their careers about being soft. Mike Brown is the answer when it comes to fixing their defense. Mike Brown was an assistant coach in San Antonio when they Spurs won with both David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Brown can probably make good things happen for L.A. with guys like Gasol and Odom, not forgetting about Artest also.

Then there's the question about Brown's offensive prowess. In Cleveland the offense was basically give the ball to Lebron and see what happens. The talent pool wasn't loaded in Cleveland like it is in L.A. The triangle offense is already structured for the Lakers, Mike Brown isn't going to come in and completely change the offense. It will likely be a modified triangle model with a few changes obviously based upon the player and coaching personnel that remains, if any. Byron Scott could easily feel indifferent about the hire and leave town but all that noise is still left to be determined.

Don't forget Mike Brown won 61 games the season he got fired. Why he got fired is still unknown for me. He took a talent-less Cleveland team except Lebron and won 61 after he won 66 games the season before of which Cleveland has never done. Cleveland is not a winning city. There's not a resounding tradition of excellence throughout any of the teams in town, and Cleveland fired something the one good thing they had in recent sports memory and the rest is absolute history with the ???Decision.???

And finally there's the question if Brown can coach Kobe Bryant? Well, he's already coached a superstar in Lebron. He's dealt with Robinson and Duncan although they're obviously not ???uncoachable??? like Kobe is perceived to be. Phil Jackson said Kobe was uncoachable early in his career so throw that notion out the window that Brown can't coach Kobe. Brown might even flourish as a head coach because L.A. has better all-around talent than Cleveland could ever imagine having.

Kobe didn't respond to the news of L.A. hiring Mike Brown. It's too early to speculate what Kobe feels about the hire. Kobe basically played for Jackson his entire career, I can only imagine it might feel different for someone else to sit in the same seat Jackson's sat in for years.