The Lakers let go of Coach Mike Brown on Friday, stunning the players who were informed by General Manager Mitch Kupchak at what was supposed to be the team's standard game-day shoot-around.
"I mean, it was just shocking to me," said forward Jordan Hill. "I've never experienced anything like that. I pulled into practice, and I saw coach. We walked in together. It was just a normal day."
"Then 20 minutes later we got the news," continued Hill. "It was definitely unexpected."
Guard Jodie Meeks may benefit with the coaching change given he had fallen out of Brown's rotation.
"I had no idea so, just like everybody else," said Meeks. "We respected him and played hard for him."
Rookie center Robert Sacre addressed expectations that surround the team.
"We are the Lakers," said Sacre. "We have that across our chest. We are supposed to have 'Ws', and that's it."
Naturally Metta World Peace had a different take on his coach's firing, noting "every video person in America, in the world right now, would want to be like Mike Brown."
Brown started as a video coordinator before working his way up as an assistant and then head coach to both LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and the Lakers.
World Peace spoke about how blessed players and coaches are for the lives they have.
"I think it's a good life and it's a good job, at the end of the day," World Peace said. "I get the chance to go out there and have fun."
As far as what happened to the Lakers this season, starting 1-4 before Friday night's victory over the Golden State Warriors, interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff had a simple answer.
"Yeah, there was something missing . . . [Steve] Nash."
Point guard Nash is recovering from a non-displaced leg fracture that will keep him out at least another week, if not longer.
The big question is who will replace Brown permanently. Phil Jackson may be the favorite but for now, it's Bickerstaff until it's officially resolved.
