LA Lakers Coach Mike Brown Fired

Mike Brown, the Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown has been fired after a disappointing 1-4 start to the season, the team announced Friday.

"I have great respect for the Buss family and the Lakers' storied tradition and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me," Brown said in a statement. "I have a deep appreciation for the coaches and players that I worked with this past year and I wish the organization nothing but success as they move forward."

Bernie Bickerstaff, the assistant coach will take over as interim coach for Friday night's home game against the Warriors.

"Today we relieved Mike Brown of his head coaching duties with the Los Angeles Lakers. Mike is a good man. Very hard working, maybe one of the hardest-working coaches that I ve ever been around," general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace that we expected this team to win and we didn't see improvement. We wish Mike well and we're sorry it ended this way. So, we've decided to move in another direction and make a change."

Lakers will begin the search for a new coach.