Three years the wiser, Cavaliers admit past mistakes and set the stage for the future
April 24, 2013NFL Rumor: Browns among teams interested in Davone Bess
April 24, 2013Mike Brown was introduced (again) as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers today. As part of the press conference, Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert answered the question that everyone had on their mind- namely was it a mistake to fire coach Brown three years ago.
“Yeah, it was a mistake. For sure it was a mistake.” Gilbert stated right away.
“In hindsight it was a mistake.”
“That summer… was a unique time for us as a franchise, there was a lot of uncertainty on all levels. We’re very happy that we get to rectify any position we took back then by Mike being available right now. Maybe it’s meant to be here. We’re very excited about today and the future.”
The admission was the story of the press conference. Certainly, the normal sports PR thing to do would have been to spin the answer so that the decision was justified somehow, but credit the Cavaliers for coming out and owning up to what they are calling a mistake, even if many in town feel the mistake was not in firing Brown but in rehiring him.
Brown returns to Cleveland as the fifth youngest coach in the league, but one of the most successful in regards to win loss record (314-167). His .663 winning percentage as the coach of the Cavaliers is tops in the organization.
[Related: Mike Brown take two? In the right situation.]
2 Comments
Props to Gilbert for being honest…but man, that’s gotta sting if you are Byron Scott.
Those are two story lines. Byron could have done a touch more with defense and game mgmt, maybe this wouldnt have played out as it has. Byron will coach again in the NBA, getting fired is part of the territory.