More than a decade after he was fired five games into his second year coaching the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike Brown admitted he regrets taking the job in the first place.
“If I could do it again, I probably wouldn't do it,” Brown said in an interview with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on the podcast “All the Smoke.”
Brown explained that he was too tough to keep up with NBA Hall of Famer Phil Jackson. No one ever reached the standard he set in Los Angeles (5 NBA titles) or Chicago (6 NBA titles).
Brown knew that when he took the job in 2011. He said the same thing at his inaugural press conference.
“I have great respect for Phil Jackson and all his accomplishments,” Brown said. “I don't know what size shoes he's wearing. But I'm not here to fill his shoes. I'm here to help this team and this organization carve its own path to success. I'm here to help.'' But it's one thing to realize how much pressure is on the Lakers' head coach and quite another to actually overcome that pressure.
Over the past 13 years, six coaches have tried to succeed Jackson. None lasted more than three seasons. Darvin Ham was fired Friday after just two seasons, making him the slowest coach to start the fall, despite going 90-74 and reaching the Western Conference Finals last season.
Of those six, two also won NBA Coach of the Year awards for their subsequent jobs — Brown with the Sacramento Kings last season and Mike D'Antoni with the Houston Rockets in 2018 — because This suggests that the quality of the coach is not decisive. Will it be success or failure on the NBA's biggest stage?
It's how a coach manages everything else that comes with leading an attractive franchise in the NBA. Star-first culture. magnified light. A history of pressure.
Ham excelled in that regard in his first season with the Lakers, deftly navigating the team through the awkwardness of the Russell Westbrook era while forming strong bonds with the team's superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He built a strong team and led the team to an unexpected victory. West finals.
However, his tenure quickly unraveled in his second season.
Sources said James was furious at the idea of limiting his playing time at the beginning of the season, but the idea was apparently abandoned after just a few games.
Throughout the season, James, Davis, and other key rotation players made little secret of their criticism of Ham's schemes, rotations, and in-game adjustments.
“There are stretches where we don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor,” Davis said candidly after Game 2 of the Lakers' first-round series loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Hamm told ESPN that he spoke privately with Davis before publicly defending himself and his staff. But the damage had been done. Five nights later, when Ham rejected his coach's challenge on a play that James claimed would win, James stomped his foot in frustration, emphasizing his lack of faith in Ham.
These are just two examples of last-minute grips below the surface during the season. However, those were very conspicuous displays by the team's most visible star, and ultimately they could not be overturned.
And another turbulent summer begins. The question the Lakers must now ask themselves is why, and how to bounce back from his brief coaching stint that ended in yet another failure.
Why did the Lakers fire Darvin Ham after two seasons?
Adrian Wojnarowski reports on the Lakers' decision to replace Darvin Ham as head coach.
A few years ago, Lakers governor Jeannie Buss told ESPN that it was important to find a coach and stick with him long enough to grow and develop an identity and playing style.
It was several coaches and countless roster iterations. Each hiring and firing was different, but the pattern remained the same.
After making the playoffs last season, general manager Rob Pelinka decided that rather than trading for a third star or pursuing higher-profile free agents, the team's own free agents Rui Hachimura and Austin – Reaves emphasized re-signing D'Angelo Russell.
LA brought Hamm and his staff back, hoping they could build on last year's accomplishments. It seemed possible early on, as the Lakers won the first in-season tournament.
And the season has come again. Injuries increased. Ham tinkered with his batting lineup in an effort to regain the defensive intensity that was the driving force behind last year's success. But instead of causing a revival, Ham caused anger. Players began to vent their frustrations both publicly and privately.
Ultimately, it became clear that if LA lost early in the playoffs, Hamm would end up paying the price.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone clearly tried to put in some good words for Ham during his press conference Monday night after Denver's series-ending win.
“I think Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach,” Malone said after Game 5. “It's not an easy job. I think Durvin did it with class. He's a good man and a good coach. . I wish him the best.” I hope he's there for a long time because he deserves it.”
Four days later, Hamm was fired.
Malone faced a similar crossroads in 2018, when the Nuggets lost Game 83 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and missed the playoffs. Sources say the Nuggets almost waived him after the season. But in the end, the team decided to bounce back and give him another chance. But it took Malone and Denver two more seasons to reach the conference finals and five more seasons to win a championship.
The Nuggets are now one of the top teams in the NBA, with Nikola Jokic on the verge of becoming a three-time MVP. Nikola Jokic is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NBA, a championship centerpiece, and is almost signed for two more seasons.
Continuation is important. Fourteen of the team's 17 championships were won by three coaches.
That kind of patience and consistency is a luxury in the NBA. Everyone strives for it, but very few franchises can achieve it.
The Lakers have tried and failed to find it six times since Jackson retired in 2011.
Everyone who has taken this job says they know what they are getting into. From Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and everyone in between, no one the franchise has hired has been able to withstand this situation.
The Lakers need to find out why before they hire their next coach.