Berger: Sixers Targeting Mike Brown, Brian Shaw for Head Coach Opening

UPDATE: Ken Berger reports Mike Brown has agreed to coach the Cavs. Great, hilarious news.

The Sixers coaching search is off to a blazing start - and by a blazing start, I mean that there's one report about the Sixers preliminary interest in potential coaches, and it's a doozy. From Ken Berger of CBS Sports:

In the early stages of the Sixers' coaching search, two names have risen to the top of the list, sources say: Mike Brown and Brian Shaw.

— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) April 23, 2013

Among the two candidates, Shaw is likely to be the more popular one among Sixers fans. He doesn't have any head coaching experience, but he's been listed among the most likely assistants to get a head coaching job for years - he actually had an offer from the Bobcats to become their coach last summer, but he turned it down. There's no telling whether or not he'd be interested in our job without assurances that the team isn't rebuilding, however, since more coveted openings are sure to appear. Shaw is regarded as a defensive-minded coach. However, the major question involving Shaw may be the type of offense he intends to employ - as an assistant under Phil Jackson for so many years, he might employ Jackson's Triangle Offense, which would not interest me in the slightest.

Mike Brown, meanwhile, may still be a good coach, but his reputation is shaky after his time with the Lakers. He guided LeBron James' Cavaliers teams to record win totals for the franchise, but he failed to win a coveted title in Cleveland and was more known for his basic, iso-centered offense than his prowess as a defensive coach (which is a very real thing). But his offensive issues are also very real - unable to figure out exactly how the Lakers should play post-Phil Jackson and the triangle, Brown pulled the ultimate desperation move and added (who else?) Eddie Jordan to the Lakers staff! Brown was fired 5 games into this season, the Princeton offense was abandoned soon after, and Jordan fell asleep on the sidelines seven times over the rest of the schedule.

If your judgment leads you to hiring Eddie Jordan to lead your offense, I'm not sure I want you coaching my team. In fact, I want him to stay as far away as possible. In good news on the Brown front, he's also received interest from Phoenix and for a reunion with Dan Gilbert and company in Cleveland, so he may not be a realistic option here. Let's hope so. Because when this is the most appropriate response, you might have a coaching issue.

LOL Mike Br- wait seriously? RT @kbergcbs: early stages of the Sixers coaching search, two names top of the list: Mike Brown and Brian Shaw.

— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) April 23, 2013

The main thing linking Brown and Shaw to the Sixers is Andrew Bynum. Shaw was an assistant coach for 6 of Bynum's seasons in LA, serving as the perennial head-coach-in-waiting to Phil Jackson. Of course, he never got the head coaching position in the end, as he was passed over for... wait for it... Mike Brown! Bynum ultimately had his best season under Mike Brown, making the all-star team in a year he averaged 18-12 and stayed healthy for the most part.

If anything, this news indicates that the Sixers may not have ruled out bringing Bynum back. Whether or not that option is desirable is really a matter of opinion, but that they plan to consider bringing him back means that the Sixers are considering a lot of options, which is a good thing. Whether or not he would return because Brown or Shaw gets the job remains to be seen. We're still very early in the search, and no one has been interviewed, so stay tuned.