NBA LA Lakers: Coach Mike Brown fired after dismal start to season
Los Angeles Lakers聽coach聽Mike Brown聽has been fired after a 1-4 start to the season, the聽National Basketball Association聽(NBA) team said on Friday.
Assistant coach聽Bernie Bickerstaff聽will take over as interim head coach for Friday's game against the聽Golden State Warriors聽and a search for a new head coach will begin immediately, general manager聽Mitch Kupchak听蝉补颈诲.
"This was a difficult and painful decision to make," Kupchak said in a statement posted on the team's website.
"Mike was very hard-working and dedicated, but we felt it was in the best interest of the team to make a change at this time. We appreciate Mike's efforts and contributions and wish him and his family the best of luck."
The disappointing start by the Lakers, who had the worst record in the Western Conference, followed an off-season in which the NBA team added All-Star center聽Dwight Howard聽and point guard聽Steve Nash, a two-time league Most Valuable Player, to their lineup.
Brown, who previously coached the聽Cleveland Cavaliers听补苍诲听LeBron James, was in the second year of a four-year, $18 million deal, of which the final year was not fully guaranteed.
Last season, the Lakers won the聽Pacific Division聽with a 41-25 and reached the conference semi-finals before falling to eventual conference champions Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.
The Lakers, hobbled by injuries in the early season, had struggled under a new offensive system installed by Brown. Howard is still recovering his form after back surgery that ended his 2011-12 season, while Nash and fellow-guard聽Kobe Bryant聽have been slowed by nagging injuries.
The poor start was particularly hard to swallow for the Lakers, who carried the NBA's largest payroll at just over $100 million.
The move came less than 48 hours after Lakers owner Jim Buss gave Brown a vote of confidence.
Reporting by Larry Fine in New York.
