Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Phoenix Suns should pursue Mike Brown as the next head coach

By Lucas Johnson

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 12: Mike Brown of the Golden State Warriors high fives fans as he walks off the court after winning Game Five of the 2017 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 12, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 12: Mike Brown of the Golden State Warriors high fives fans as he walks off the court after winning Game Five of the 2017 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 12, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With the end of the season in the distance, it’s never too early for the Phoenix Suns to set their sights on the franchise’s next head coach.

The Phoenix Suns recently released head coach Earl Watson from his coaching responsibilities and have named Jay Triano as their interim head coach. The Suns front office will have to make a tough decision when the season ends about which direction they may want to go with the head coaching position. One option the club should seriously consider is the Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown.

Fans will most likely have recent memories of Brown being the interim head coach for the Warriors during last year’s playoffs when he led the team to a 11-0 record. Brown’s coaching history is much more extensive than that.

Coaching Record Table
Regular SeasonPlayoffs
SeasonAgeLgTmGWLW/L%W > .500FinishGWLW/L%Notes
1997-9827NBAWASAssistant Coach
1998-9928NBAWASAssistant Coach
2000-0130NBASASAssistant Coach
2001-0231NBASASAssistant Coach
2002-0332NBASASAssistant Coach
2003-0433NBAINDAssistant Coach
2004-0534NBAINDAssistant Coach
2005-0635NBACLE825032.6109.021376.538
2006-0736NBACLE825032.6109.0220128.600EC Champions
2007-0837NBACLE824537.5494.021376.538
2008-0938NBACLE826616.80525.0114104.714
2009-1039NBACLE826121.74420.011165.545
2011-1241NBALAL664125.6218.011257.417
2012-1342NBALAL514.200-1.53
2013-1443NBACLE823349.402-8.03
2016-1746NBAGSWAssistant Coach
CareerNBA563347216.61665.5834736.566

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/29/2017.

Several notes need to be added to Brown’s coaching stints. He has worked under the San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich, who is arguably one of the greatest coaches in NBA History.

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In 2007 as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown helped guide a young LeBron James to his first NBA Finals. There is a reason why Brown should get almost as much credit as LeBron in getting the team to the finals. As great of a player as LeBron is, he has only won championships with other great players. Back in that finals, the next three best players the Cavs had were Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes. All three players averaged in either 11 or 12 points per game in those playoffs. To say that a 22 year-old LeBron carried that team to the Finals with no good coaching at all is just not realistic. About two years after that Finals series, Brown won Coach of the Year. The Cavs eventually fired Brown even though he had a 60 plus win season that year.

After being let go, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers a year later and was the last coach that coached Kobe Bryant and the Lakers past the first round of the playoffs. Brown was let go a season later after a slow start to begin the regular season. To be fair, Brown had the burden of the Lakers’ legacy of being a great team and the addition of Dwight Howard which ended up being bad for all parties involved.

Brown had a brief reunion with the Cavs that ended after one season primarily because of the young team’s poor play and his lack of connection with Kyrie Irving. Brown does deserve some blame on this, because no one should ever return to an ex; it never turns out good for anyone involved.

Next: Contrasting Earl Watson and Jay Triano

Mike Brown may not be the flashest name on the markets, but if the Phoenix Suns hire him they know they will get a coach that can handle star players and get his teams to the playoffs. The Suns could greatly benefit on bringing in Brown as the head coach after this season.

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