Akron, OH – The Cleveland Cavaliers appear on the verge of bringing back Mike Brown for a second stint with the organization, with the Akron Beacon Journal reporting Wednesday that he and the team have reached an agreement to become its new head coach.
The paper stated that an official announcement could come as soon as Wednesday.
Brown had previously served as the Cavaliers' head coach for five seasons between 2005-10, a tenure highlighted by the franchise reaching the NBA Finals for the only time in its history behind LeBron James in 2007. Three years later, Cleveland was upset in six games by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals during James' final season before departing for Miami as a free agent, and Brown was dismissed despite the Cavs posting a league-best 61 victories that campaign.
The 43-year-old Brown resurfaced as the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach in 2011-12, but was fired five games into this past season after that team got off to a 1-4 start amidst high expectations.
Brown amassed a 272-138 regular-season record and a 42-29 playoff mark during his first go-around with the Cavs, and his .663 winning percentage in regular- season play is the best in franchise history. Cleveland reached the playoffs in each of his five seasons at the helm, and he was named the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2008-09 after guiding the club to a 66-16 record an appearance in the East finals.
Cleveland has struggled mightily since replacing Brown with Byron Scott, who was fired last week following a 24-58 finish in 2012-13. The Cavs went just 64-166 in three seasons under Scott, though James' departure to the Heat coincided with the team's regression.
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