Former Lakers coach Mike Brown fired by Cleveland Cavaliers

Mike Brown’s second shot with the Cleveland Cavaliers lasted one season.

Brown was fired Monday for the second time in four years by owner Dan Gilbert, who last April brought back the only coach to get the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals but then dismissed him after the team failed to make the playoffs.

The Cavaliers went 33-49 under Brown, who had four years remaining on his contract. Brown was fired last season by the Lakers five games into his second season.

“This is a very tough business,” Gilbert said in a statement. “It pains all of us here that we needed to make the difficult decision of releasing Mike Brown. Mike worked hard over this last season to move our team in the right direction. Although, there was some progress from our finish over the few prior seasons, we believe we need to head in a different direction.”

Gilbert also said David Griffin would be retained as general manager. Griffin had been the interim GM since Feb. 6, when Gilbert fired Chris Grant.

Just a year ago, Gilbert admitted he made a mistake in firing Brown the first time.

Now he’s done it again.

Brown was let go in 2010 after the Cavaliers failed to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinals. At the time, it appeared Gilbert was making the move — and hiring Byron Scott as coach — to appease superstar LeBron James and keep him in Cleveland. James though, decided to leave as a free agent for Miami.