<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CLEVELAND -- Mike Brown, a 13-year NBA assistant with a league title on his resume, has been hired as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team announced Wednesday. Brown spent the past two years as Rick Carlisle's top assistant in Indiana, where he was credited with improving the Pacers' defense and developing Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson. ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported Monday that Brown and the Cavs had agreed in principle to a four-year deal worth approximately $9 million. Brown's challenge in his first head coaching job will be getting star forward LeBron James and the Cavaliers back into the NBA playoffs. Cleveland was poised for a return to the postseason for the first time since 1998 before their 2004-05 season collapsed amid an ownership change and the firing of coach Paul Silas.</div> Source
