PORTLAND — Just weeks after an offseason house fire burned him up a bit, Mike Brown crutched into a downtown Cleveland hotel — in between Games 3 and 4 of last year’s Finals — to meet with Steve Kerr about the upcoming opening on his staff, left vacant by the departing Luke Walton.
Kerr’s staff already included Ron Adams, a long-time, highly respected assistant and Jarron Collins, an up-and-coming assistant. But Brown had something the others didn’t: NBA head coaching experience. It’s part of the reason he was hired and it’s proving a crucial attribute at the season’s most important point.