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Video: Phil Jackson is back from retirement to… |
When Phil Jackson disappeared to Montana last May, leaving a disappointing Los Angeles Lakers team behind, nobody would have predicted that the next time we’d take in the musings of the Zen Master would be on opening night of the NFL’s football season. Heck, back in May few knew when the opening night of the NFL season would actually take place due to their own lockout, so who would guess at something nutty like that. Phil is back, though, and via ClutchFans.net, he’s behind the wheel of an Audi A8, and coming to the aid of beleaguered servers everywhere: Again, we’re not typically keen on showcasing advertisements here at BDL, but it’s Phil Jackson and Audi. They gave us the Quattro, which short of the triangle offense is the greatest thing ever. And it’s good to see Phil again. Even if he’s giving us the first #Humblebrag of the fall television season. Related: Los Angeles Lakers, Video That’s all the news for today. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
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Pacers hire Shaw, keep Burke |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Shaw had Kobe Bryant’s support, among others, to become the Los Angeles Lakers coach upon Phil Jackson’s retirement. The Lakers bypassed their longtime assistant and went with Mike Brown. Shaw has moved on in a reunion of sorts. The Indiana Pacers introduced Shaw on as their new associate head coach Wednesday. He will work alongside Pacers coach Frank Vogel, a man he knows from their days on Los Angeles’ staff together during the 2005-2006 season. “We really established a special connection back then,” Shaw said. “A good friendship. We stayed in touch over the years.” Shaw was considered a head coaching candidate during his time with the Lakers, and Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher publicly supported his bid to become Jackson’s successor. Shaw said he tempered his expectations. “I understood all along that nothing was a slam dunk,” he said. “I didn’t expect for anything to be handed to me or given to me. I was very appreciative of the comments and the support that I got from out players during and after the season.” Shaw is fine with the way things played out. “I don’t have any hard feelings at all because things are changing there, and there’s an opportunity here that I’m excited about,” he said. Shaw isn’t sure what his new title entails, but he appreciates it and considers it confirmation that he’s nearing his goal of becoming a head coach. “I’m getting close, so I guess it’s a stamp that says I’m just about ready,” he said. “But to me, I’m just another assistant coach.” Vogel said Shaw is more than that. “He’s a guy that, quite frankly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get,” he said. “He’s a guy that’s been in line to be a head coach for a number of years. I view him as having almost like a second head coach with me.” Vogel said the hiring shows that the Pacers are moving in the right direction. “There was interest in him around the league and he chose to come to Indiana,” he said. “It’s indicative of what we’re building here. People want to be a part of this team and this city, right now. It’s going to be a special era.” Shaw said Indiana’s fans are knowledgeable, and he likes the idea of coaching in a place where basketball is the key attraction. “A lot of time, the fans in L.A., and it’s not a knock against them, but it was a lot of celebrities, and people come to the came to see who they can see and who’s at the game instead of what’s going on in the game,” he said. As an assistant for Jackson, Shaw said he learned from the best. “One of the things that I really admire and respect about the time that I was able to spend with him was how he dealt with his personnel, different egos, and unified them and made them all one,” he said. Shaw wants to display Jackson’s demeanor. “I’ve never seen not just a coach, but a man, so patient,” Shaw said. “You could be down 20, you could be in Game 7 of the finals and need a critical play out of one of your players and he was always on an even keel. That’s what I hope rubbed off on me and I will be able to imitate it at some point.” Vogel said Shaw’s collection of experiences — he won three NBA titles as a player and two as an assistant coach — help make him an ideal addition. “There’s guys that are special and guys that are qualified,” Vogel said. “We’ve got a special candidate here.” The Pacers also retained Dan Burke from the previous staff and look to add a third assistant soon. ___ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: —http://twitter.com/cliffbruntap There is the quick update of the day. |
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Mike Brown agrees to fill Lakers coaching vacancy |
Rather than promoting one of Jackson’s assistant coaches, the Lakers are changing course after an abrupt end to their 2-year title reign and the long-anticipated departure of Jackson, the coach with the most championship rings in NBA history. After nearly quitting last summer, Jackson retired earlier this month after the Dallas Mavericks swept the defending two-time champion Lakers out of the second round of the playoffs. Although Kobe Bryant endorsed Jackson assistant Brian Shaw, Jim Buss – the Lakers’ executive vice president of player personnel and the son of owner Jerry Buss – became intrigued by Brown after Saturday’s interview. A respected young tactician with a strong coaching pedigree, Brown also has ample experience with big games and big stars, even if he couldn’t guide LeBron James to a title. “I think it’s great,” James said in Miami, where he’s preparing for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. ESPN, which employed Brown as an analyst this season, first reported Brown had been hired. Brown, 41, led the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals and went 272-138 in 5 years with Cleveland, becoming the most successful coach in franchise history while compiling the league’s best regular-season record in each of his last two seasons. But the 2009 NBA coach of the year was fired last spring following the Cavs’ dissension-filled exit from the second round of the postseason, and James left for Miami a few weeks later. If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it. |
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Lakers poised to sign Mike Brown as head coach |
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Los Angeles Lakers have said they are close to finalizing a deal with Mike Brown to succeed Phil Jackson as the National Basketball Association team’s new head coach. “In response to rampant speculation and reports about our head coaching position and Mike Brown, we’ve met with Mike and are very impressed with him,” Lakers spokesman John Black said Wednesday. “In addition, we have an outline for an agreement in place and hope to sign a contract within the next few days.” Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Brown, 41, works as a television analyst at ESPN which first reported that a deal was close. The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Brown was expected to sign a contract late Wednesday or Thursday. The Times said the deal could be worth between $4 million and $4.5 million a season and good for four years with an option. Brown was interviewed on ESPN during half time of the Dallas Mavericks’ Western Conference finals victory over Oklahoma City. He said he had already traded text messages with Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who had endorsed Phil Jackson assistant coach Brian Shaw for the top job. Brown said he was “looking forward to getting to know Kobe and being able to work with him to go and get us a championship,” he said. Shaw had been a favored candidate of many Lakers players, but Derek Fisher said via Twitter Wednesday that he was looking forward to working with Brown. “Will miss Phil but excited to start a new chapter under Mike Brown,” Fisher said on the micro-blogging site. “Looking forward to a different style and energy!!” In Los Angeles, Brown faces the difficult challenge of replacing coaching icon Jackson, who had 11 championship rings with Los Angeles and the Chicago Bulls, and last season led the Lakers to their 16th NBA title in franchise history. Jackson retired after the Lakers were eliminated by Dallas in the second round of this year’s playoffs. Brown was head coach of the Cavaliers for five seasons until he was fired last year. In 2009, he was named the NBA’s coach of the year. The Cavaliers made it to the 2007 NBA finals but were eliminated in four straight games by San Antonio. Feel free to leave your comments below. |
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Los Angeles Lakers Have ‘Outline’ Deal to Hire Ex-Cavs Coach Mike Brown |
Wed May 25 23:14:12 GMT 2011 The Los Angeles Lakers have an “We’ve met with Mike and are very impressed with him,” Brown, 41, agreed in principle to a four-year contract with Brown was fired by the Cavaliers on May 24, 2010, after Brown, who has been working as an NBA analyst for ESPN In Jackson’s 11 seasons in Los Angeles, the Lakers had a Lakers assistant Brian Shaw and ex-Houston Rockets coach Brown started his NBA career in 2000 as an assistant to Brown was fired last year after the Cavaliers became the To contact the reporter on this story: To contact the editor responsible for this story: That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow. |
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