According to Yahoo sports’ Marc Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski the Lakers have not settled on Mike Brown as their next head coach quite yet. While several reports are that the team has offered Brown the job and that he will accept, Lakers’ officials say that that’s not quite the case.
The news of Brown’s reported hiring came late Tuesday night and surprised almost everybody. Many thought the Lakers would hire Brian Shaw to keep some continuity from the Phil Jackson regime, but it seems they’re looking to move away from the Jackson era and the triangle offense that it brought with it.
Brown gained momentum on Tuesday when the team finished their interviews with the other candidates, including Shaw, Rick Adelman, and MIke Dunleavy. The team is looking to save money after having the highest paid head coach the past several seasons. The two sides are reportedly trying to agree on salary numbers before making the deal official.
One particularly surprised individual was superstar Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles guard has voiced his support for Shaw numerous times over the past several months, and was ‘surprised’ to hear that the Lakers were leaning towards Brown.
Sources close to Brown state that he really want’s the Lakers deal to work out, and that he’s anxious to coach again after spending the last season as an analyst for ESPN.