Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown and Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey are two candidates for the Warriors’ coaching job, but no one is expected to be hired soon, possibly not before the June 23 draft.
A team source confirmed ESPN.com‘s report that the Warriors have plans to interview Brown and Casey, with Casey’s likely coming before the Mavericks start the Western Conference finals.
Another team source confirmed the Warriors’ interest in Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank. He isn’t formerly scheduled to be interviewed, the source said, but he is on the Warriors’ list. Another source said the Warriors have some interest in Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, an Oakland native and Bishop O’Dowd High grad.
Nothing will be decided before co-owner Joe Lacob gets back from vacation, one source assured. He is in Africa with his fiancee and won’t return until next week. He will represent the Warriors at the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday.
Lacob and Larry Riley, executive vice president of basketball operations, are handling the coaching search.
The Warriors announced on April 27 that Keith Smart would not be retained as head coach. Smart was hired just before the start of training camp to replace fired coach Don Nelson. Smart amassed a 36-46 record in his one season, a 10-game improvement over 2009-10. But the team decided to go another direction.
Judging by the list of Warriors’ candidates, the team is looking for experience on the bench.
Brown, 41, coached for five seasons in Cleveland, his only NBA head coaching job. Brown, with LeBron James as his star, posted a winning percentage of .663 and reached the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2009. He was named Coach of the Year for the 2008-09 season.
Casey, 54, lasted a year and a half in Minnesota before being fired 40 games into the 2006-07 season. He was 53-69 overall, but the Timberwolves were 20-20 in his second season before he was let go. He hasn’t gotten a shot since, but he’s now one of the league’s respected assistants.
Frank, 40, also is looking for his second NBA head coaching gig. He was fired in his seventh season with New Jersey after the team started 0-16. But in five full seasons with the Nets, they were above .500 three times.
Frank’s association with the Celtics might be what’s attracting the Warriors. Lacob is a Massachusetts native and former Celtics minority owner, and he openly reveres that organization.
One theory is that Golden State may want a young coach to grow with the team. Brown and Frank fit that mold. Same for Shaw, but many believe he is slated to be Phil Jackson’s successor with the Lakers, who were swept by Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals.
