Top 20+ years ago, the Cavs put Mike Brown on the clock. He’s still ticking – Terry Pluto

Mike Brown was hired by the Cavs for the first time in 2005. This was his first press conference.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Twenty years ago, Mike Brown was hired as the Cavs’ new head coach.

Amend that: Brown was hired as the Cavs’ new head coach on June 2, 2005, for the first time. He came back in 2013, but that’s another story.

Twenty years ago, Brown became an NBA head coach for the first time.

Only in the NBA …

That’s what I was thinking about Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau, who was fired. That’s the same Tom Thibodeau who led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference appearance in 25 years. And it’s the same Tom Thibodeau who also had back-to-back seasons of 50 victories, the first for the Knicks since the 1990s.

Like this year’s Cavs, the Knicks were ambushed by the Pacers and eliminated. Thibodeau took the fall, complaints about him playing his starters too many minutes, etc.

But he made the Knicks truly relevant for the first time this century … and was fired.

Only in the NBA …

Where it began

Mike Brown is a true Only In The NBA story.

In 2005, Brown came from the Indiana Pacers where he was the defensive coordinator for … get this … head coach Rick Carlisle.

Dan Gilbert brought Mike Brown back to coach the Cavs for the 2013-14 season.

Wait a minute, Carlisle has been coaching the Pacers since 2005? No, that was his first tour of duty in Indiana. He’s now in his second stint with the Pacers.

Only In the NBA …

At that 2005 press conference, owner Dan Gilbert brought out a huge clock. Yes, a clock to Brown’s introductory press conference. Brown had yet to even hold a practice or meet most of his new players, but Gilbert had a message for him:

Mike Brown in 2005, his first year coaching LeBron James.

“You’re on the clock.”

He then handed the clock to Brown.

The 35-year-old Brown laughed, but also knew Gilbert had owned the Cavs for six months. Gilbert had already fired GM Jim Paxson, head coach Paul Silas and interim head coach Brendan Malone.

LeBron James had been with the Cavs for two years. They missed the playoffs both times. James was eligible to sign an extension in the summer of 2006. Gilbert’s message with the clock was the same he gave Brown in private, “We’ve got to make the playoffs, period.”

Who is Mike Brown?

I kept asking myself that question. I had his basic information in front of me.

He had been an assistant with a few teams. From 2000-03, he worked for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Steve Kerr and Danny Ferry were bench players for the Spurs. As a young assistant, Brown worked with them after practice. Those relationships would become important to Brown.

When Brown was hired to be the Cavs’ coach in 2005, Ferry was on his way to Cleveland as the new GM. Brown was hired first, but Ferry had made out a list of coaching candidates for Gilbert. Brown was No. 1.

Mike Brown at his 2005 press conference when he was first hired as the Cavs head coach by Dan Gilbert.

After the press conference, I talked to Gilbert about his decision to hire Brown. Ferry also would be a rookie GM.

I remember Gilbert telling me how Brown “blew everyone away in his interview” with his preparation and enthusiasm.

It’s the same thing you hear about Brown today. He’s a man who is so organized, his notes and charts are color coded. Back then, Brown also ironed his own shirts. He still has lots of different glasses and frames.

But in 2005, he had never been a head coach … anywhere.

I asked Gilbert about Brown’s lack of experience.

Gilbert said, “Experience can be good or bad. Experience at what? Being mediocre? It depends.”

It was an interesting answer.

“Contrary to popular opinion, we’re going to give him more time than people think to be head coach of the Cavaliers,” Gilbert said.

What about Larry Brown?

Besides the clock, there was another “Only in the NBA” moment at the press conference. Gilbert had been trying to hire Larry Brown, who was the Pistons head coach.

Speaking to a few media members after the press conference, Gilbert went deeper on the Larry Brown rumors.

“No deal has been struck,” he said. “He has not committed — yet. There is no deal with Larry Brown. There is no deal on the table. There is no deal off the table. There is no deal partially on the table. We’ve got to let the man be, let him coach the Pistons. After the season is over and he gets his health checked out, if he can’t coach, we’ll be glad to sit down with him and discuss a potential deal (to work with Cavs in non-coaching capacity).”

Only in the NBA does something like that happen.

Gilbert has learned a lot since those days as a rookie owner. Brown did deliver a playoff team in his rookie season, and the Cavs even knocked off Washington in the first round. James did sign a three-year extension in the summer of 2006. Larry Brown coached eight different NBA teams, but never coached in Cleveland.

The unsinkable Mike Brown

He was fired in the turbulent Cavs summer of 2010 when James became a free agent. The Cavs hoped hiring Byron Scott to replace Brown would help retain James. It was never going to happen.

The “Kid From Akron” as he sometimes called himself was preparing to “take my talents to South Beach.” That’s what he said in his July 8, 2010, ESPN televised “Decision” show announcing he was headed to the Miami Heat.

Brown was hired by the Lakers. He had a 41-25 record in 2011-12. He started the 2011-12 season at 1-4, then was fired.

Only in the NBA …

Brown took two years off, then went to Golden State as Steve Kerr’s assistant. He served as head coach for the Warriors for part of the 2017 Finals vs. the Cavs when Kerr was out with back problems.

Next stop, Sacramento. He led the Kings to their first playoff appearance (2023) this century. He was the NBA’s Coach of the Year. He was fired last season after 31 games.

This will surprise some people: Brown has a .599 winning percentage as an NBA head coach with four different teams. He made the playoffs seven times. Only once was eliminated in the first round.

Brown is one of the best men I’ve met in the NBA. He is an underrated coach. He continually recreates himself. He is utterly unflappable, which will serve him well in New York.

It’s 20 years after Dan Gilbert put Brown on the clock … but time has yet to run out for him.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.