Adding intrigue to the 2014 off-season

In a more simple time, Mike Brown was the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this simple time, Brown had a simple coaching philosophy: Give the ball to Lebron James. This strategy led to multiple playoff wins and one run at the NBA championship. Though it ended titleless, this was the hay day for Cleveland basketball fans. Now, after introducing the complications of Big Threes and stints in La La Land, Mike Brown may be returning to simple times and simple strategies in Cleveland.

This week, Brown and the Cleveland Cavs inked a five-year, $20 million contract. Though during his last stint in Cleveland, Brown had back-to-back 60 win seasons, he was axed in 2010. In 2013, Brown was the top choice for the Cavs and the only coach the franchise reached out to. According to sources, Brown met with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, and General Manger Chris Grant, over the weekend in hopes of putting a deal together.

Since the departure of King James, the Cavs have been a historically bad basketball team. The team axed brown and hired Byron Scott in hopes of keeping James in his home state, but ended up losing a good coach and the best player in the league. The franchise now hopes to build around Brown’s leadership, the impressive abilities of point guard Kyrie Irving and a huge amount of salary cap space.

While the rumor is that Brown decided to return to Cleveland for family reasons, the more intriguing story is that James becomes a free agent in 2014. The Cavs have a lot of money and some young talent and the Miami Heat doesn't have the funds to keep the Big Three together unless each one takes a big pay cut. While many think this will lead to jettisoning Chris Bosh to keep James and Dwayne Wade, many believe that James would like to return to his hometown and play with a young stud like Irving. Adding a coach in which James prospered under already isn't a bad move either. Only time will tell if the hiring of Mike Brown will give the Cavs more than just a tenured, well-respected head coach.

Photo courtesy of Wages of Wins