Mike Brown fired as Laker Coach …Long term replacement not named

A 1-4 start, the team’s superstar and de facto general manager isn’t happy with the coach and gave a icy stare during the game the other night that could kill. It spelled the end for the headcoach. No this isn’t the Knicks we are talking about. It’s the glamour team of the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers. Be honest, you saw this one coming didn’t you? The Lakers were not completely on board with Brown when they hired him, unless Lebron gave a stellar reference to Kobe. Yet he decided to run the princeton offense with a group that is used to Isolations and pick and rolls, especially Steve Nash. With Brown I always got the sense he really didn’t connect with Kobe first and foremost. With the Knicks Dantoni didn’t connect with Carmelo, and it got him fired/resigned. The NBA unlike baseball and football the coach has to connecct with his superstar play of players. with out that connection the coach is on a island by himself. The successful coaches (Phil Jackson,Pat Riley, Greg Popovich, Jeff Van Gundy) coaches of that sort make sure the star of the team buys all in to the program. They all have Cache’ something that Brown does not. Kobe’s look the other night said as much. The reinserting Dwight Howard and Kobe back into a blow game that the Lakers were winning and won, I’m sure worked against Brown too. Rumor has it the Lakers are possiblily looking at Mike Dantoni, Steve Nash’s old coach in Phoenix, he does have a system that will appeal more to Nash because all the emphasis is on the point guard, but other players around the PG get better looks and score. Of Course the rap on Dantoni is his distain for the defensive end, and if you are going to play for a championship you have play defense. Other former coaches who might either be considered or mentioned could be …Nate Mc Millian, Jerry Sloan (I wonder though if he was losing cache in Utah, can he get it back in LA) Stan Van Gundy..(Wouldn’t that be ironic, he and Dwight together again?)Phil Jackson (I doubt he would comeback but then again you never know). Speaking of Van Gundy how about Jeff Van Gundy, he relates to his star players, (Ewing and Yao Ming) and stress defense, and will pick and roll. Of cousre, the big question is why only after 5 games? Why not after 5 games? Management felt Brown had already lost control of this group and they want to turn this around asap. They are a franchise that contends for championships so they didn’t want to concede any more ground as the season progressed. Another thing to consider, the Western Conference is still up for grabs, with Oklahoma City’s trade of James Harden to Houston, it is a step back for them for the time being,a move in the meantime gives the Lakers a chance to still be the top seed when all is said and done. In hindsight, yes maybe they should have let Brown go during the off season, but if they were 4-1 instead of 1-4 Browm at least would have had more time. Again he doesn’t have the cache of his replacement Phil Jackson and didn’t have Kobe all in so… What can Brown do?