Mike Brown hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s not entirely unique to Cleveland, but the constant revolving door of coaches with the longing for the times when things weren’t quite so bad seems to fit the mood of the city and its sports teams quite appropriately. This is a place that doesn’t quite know who it is or what it wants. It hasn’t since the ships stopped coming into port and the rails were torn out so that everyone can drive around all the time.

Cleveland wants to be real. It wants to be a player. But it doesn’t know how, and every time it is met at an inflection point, it finds a way to regress back in on itself like a frightened turtle. “You aren’t from Cleveland. You don’t understand. We’re cursed. It’s just Cleveland.”

Brown was fired by the Cavs in 2010 in an attempt to appease James, who wound up bolting for Miami anyway. Brown returns to help bring some defensive stability to a Cavs team that never really improved on that end under Scott, although there’s some question about whether this will have an effect on a possible James return.

Nevertheless, Cavs general manager Chris Grant is excited to have Brown back in the fold:

One NBA executive told Berger that James “isn’t a fan” of his former Cavs coach, who coached James to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007. The duo ended their time together after the 2010 season, when Cleveland recorded its second 60-win regular season in a row, but again failed to make the championship series.

It’s still unclear whether James and Brown have put any differences in the past.

The Lakers in 2011 signed Brown to a three-year, $18 million deal with a partially-guaranteed fourth year.

Brown coached the Lakers for one full year in 2011-12 during the lockout-shortened season before limping to his end with a 1-4 start in his second year in Los Angeles. Mike D’Antoni, also a client of LeGarie, replaced Brown as the Lakers’ head coach.

Wojnarowski also reports that the deal is expected to be worth five years, the final of which would include a buyout option.

There is still a

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General manager Chris Grant fired Byron Scott earlier in the week, in part due to deterioration on the defensive end of the floor over his three-year stint with the team. Brown is known as a defensive specialist, and Cavaliers blog Fear the Sword notes that he fits many of the qualifications laid out for candidates by Grant:

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