It’s always an interesting subplot to me when I watch professional sports games, to see the relationship between the star player and his head coach.
Is it a father-son type of bond? Strictly professional? A polite, hands-off approach? I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen a variation of almost all of them. I think it’s even safer to say that during LeBron James’ time in a Cavaliers uniform, his head coach Mike Brown was rarely ever, if at all, seen chewing LeBron out or getting in his face.
Nothing wrong with that, different approaches work with different people. Not to mention the fact that LeBron was one of the greatest prospects the game had seen in years, it was probably safer for Brown to not be that hard on him. Also seeing as how the franchise was desperate to keep LeBron, it makes sense how he was given almost complete control of the team and was never seen getting a rough speech from his coach.
But we all know LeBron left ultimately and now Mike Brown is back in Cleveland with another young star on his hands. Kyrie Irving is not LeBron James in terms of talent, but he has made it clear with his play that he is one of the best young players in the game today. This time though, it appears Mike Brown is decidedly more aggressive with the star of his team.
Per Akron Beacon Journal’s Jason Lloyd:
First off, the tongue lashing Mike Brown gave to Kyrie Irving. I don’t know what Brown was so upset about and I’m not going to speculate, but Brown was hot when Irving left the game in the first quarter. […] Brown’s back was to the media, but you didn’t need to see his face to see him really giving it to Irving. It was a stern chew out that included some head shaking from Brown and a lot of jawing.
“There was a lot going on. It’s between he and I, but there was a lot going on,” Brown said. “Not just with him, but with the whole team.”
“Just a conversation with my coach,” Irving said. “That’s about it.”
Ultimately I’m sure it’s not a big deal to some, as Kyrie kind of dismissed it all together.
But, I do think it’s a signal that this time around Mike Brown is intent on making sure he has his say about the way the team is ran. And with LeBron gone, it appears he isn’t afraid to get in anybody’s face about it.