Not So Fast, Big Man
February 21, 2008Latest Trade Rumors
February 21, 2008The Plain Dealer is reporting that the Browns are very close to a deal with Jamal Lewis. The deal is reportedly for two years with an option for a third. Browns GM Phil Savage told a local radio show that he expects this deal to be completed within 24 hours. That is certainly good news for Cleveland. The signing would give the Browns an opportunity to be selective in finding Lewis’ eventual replacement. I can’t imagine anyone within the Browns organization would guess Jamal would be effective past 2010, or that anyone on the current roster would be worthy of feature back status at that point. Lewis surpassed most expectations this season, rushing for over 1300 yards and 9 scores. Perhaps as important, he missed only 1 full game due to injury, answering those who questioned his durability. UPDATE: The deal is reportedly done.
Interesting read on coach Mike Brown on CleveScene.com. Thanks to Henry Abbott at TrueHoop for the tip. The article is quite candid, more so than any piece I’ve read from a Cavalier beat writer.
One of the more enlightening details I read included the level of involvement of GM Danny Ferry in day to day operations of the team.
Danny Ferry didn’t hire Mike Brown; Gilbert did. But the two were close to a package deal. Brown took the job knowing Ferry would likely be the GM. Before he was hired, Ferry gave Gilbert his blessing. As Ferry puts it, “We’ve got our skins in this game together.”
The result is a relationship that’s as close as any GM-coach tandem in the NBA. Ferry lurks at nearly every practice. After games, they meet to debrief. Then, when the assistant coaches leave, “Danny and I will sit and we’ll talk,” says Brown. “It’s good for me to hear Danny’s perspective . . . Depending on how I’m feeling, Danny could be there with me until one in the morning.”
Seriously? Is that healthy? How would you like your boss reviewing your every move, hovering over you so closely? You might think Ferry has a control problem. Of course, Ferry realizes he has one chance to keep his job, and that means keeping LeBron happy and in a Cleveland uniform.
Also interesting was this admission by Mike Brown about the lack of offense in last year’s finals.
After the Finals last summer, the two met to review the season. But this time, Brown didn’t quite appreciate Ferry’s perspective. While Ferry is cut from the same defense-first cloth, he saw the Finals the same way fans did: The Cavs’ offense just didn’t work.
“He’s watching the practices, he’s watching the games, he’s watching us struggle,” Brown says. “And that was one of the things he told me. At first, you get offended. You just won 50 games. Screw you!“
Ferry urged Brown to spend time during the off season with Ettore Messina, an Italian coach known for offensive creativity.
“You get defensive,” Brown says. “Your insides start to boil over. What does he know? He’s not in my shoes!“
But Brown, famous for his devotion to film, had watched the same games that Ferry had. And while it pained him to admit it, he’d come to the same conclusion. “Offensively,” he says, “we were horrible.”
Yes, Mike you were. Four guys standing around watching LeBron run around looking for a shot is not offense. It is offensive. And yes, I believe that the Cavaliers have improved on offense this year, but I would stop short at calling them ‘creative’. The most effective offense for the Cavaliers remains attacking the basket, whether it is LeBron, or Hughes, or even Devin Brown. Those three have the ability to score, or collapse the defense for an open jumper. (For the record, Devin Brown is not quite there on finding the open man when he drives, he is either going to score, get fouled or blocked.)
Further, the response that he got from some of the players might paint an unflattering picture of Brown’s image as a player’s coach.
So when you ask players to describe Brown’s style or assess his growth, the responses tend to match their place in the organizational hierarchy. Donyell Marshall, whose numbers have fallen each year with the Cavs, turns away at the mention of his coach’s name. “You’re talkin’ to the wrong guy,” he says.
Ira Newble, whose minutes were cut in half after Brown’s arrival, sucks in a long breath of cautious pause. “I don’t know how he’s gonna answer that,” says Shannon Brown from the locker next door. He should know: The first-round pick has been twice sent to the NBA’s developmental league, his future surely resting somewhere other than Cleveland.
Even Marshall — the “wrong guy” to talk — eventually makes his way to a passionate defense of the coach. “We struggled early, but it had nothing to do with the coaching,” he says. “I think he’s doing the right things. There was a reason we were in the championship last year.”
As Joe Tone points out, the opinion everyone most worries about is LeBron’s, and the star is still singing the praise of his head coach. So until that changes, I don’t expect Brown to be going anywhere anytime soon.
As an aside, I’m happy to have a free moment to write again after ‘life got in the way’ for a few days. It is nice to retreat to the sports world every once in a while where things aren’t really that serious. Thanks to Rock and Scott for holding down the fort.
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1 Comment
Hey, no problem. That’s what we’re here for.