Los Angeles Lakers fire Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoni up next?

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After a lockout-shortened season and a mere five games this season, Mike Brown has been fired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether or not it’s fair doesn’t matter in the Lakers’ world where winning an NBA championship defines a successful season and every other outcome a failed one. Of course, in a normal situation, you could point to a core of players that needed more time to gel together.

Steve Nash and Dwight Howard were the offseason prizes for the team, but both are not 100% healthy with the former not having played since the second game of the season and not expected to return until next week. Is Nash’s injury Brown’s fault? Of course not. Neither is Howard’s looming back issue. And, to some degree, neither is his team’s play on the court. Brown isn’t turning the ball over and missing a ton of shots.

Sure, he’s the coach and his players’ actions have Brown being held accountable, but again, it takes time for new teammates, particularly two high-profile players that were “the man” for their former teams, to gel. Nash and Howard weren’t going to magically find great timing with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the rest of the crew from the get-go. Brown definitely deserved more time as coach, at least to the new year.

Alas, we’re talking about a Lakers world and Brown had to go, overreaction or not. So, who’s next? Mike D’Antoni’s name has been the sexy name bandied about. D’Antoni was Bryant’s favorite player while Bryant was growing up in Italy. D’Antoni and Nash have a successful history together. The personnel is there for an offensive juggernaut and we all know the Lakers’ glory days with Magic Johnson had them being an exciting offensive team to watch.

Whichever way the Lakers go will be without Mike Brown, a coach that seemingly gets the short end of the stick on the regular. Remember when the Cleveland Cavaliers got rid of him to allegedly appease LeBron James and have him re-sign with the team? Well, don’t feel too bad because Brown will be getting paid $11 million for doing nothing except shaking his head.

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