Dan Gilbert Admits Firing Mike Brown Was A Mistake

The Dan Gilbert 20/20 Hindsight Tour is in full swing now after the Cleveland Cavaliers owner re-introduced former/now current head coach Mike Brown on Wednesday — three years after firing him following consecutive 60-win seasons. Gilbert met with Brown (whose most recent gig was a messy stint with the Los Angeles Lakers) and Cavs general manager Chris Grant on Sunday for what was supposed to be a 90-minute reacquaintance dinner.

The dinner reportedly stretched into a six-and-a-half-hour affair, culminating with Gilbert admitting on Wednesday that he made the wrong decision in 2010:

“Yeah, it was a mistake,” Gilbert said Wednesday at Brown’s reintroductory news conference. “When you get the benefit of hindsight, it was a mistake. We’re very happy that we get to rectify any position we took back then by Mike being available right now.”

“That summer we went through three years ago, that was a unique time for us as a franchise,” Gilbert said. “There was a lot of uncertainty on all levels.”

“Mike Brown and what he brings is exactly what this franchise needs right now,” Gilbert said. “We need an authentic, hard working grinder who is a defensive first coach who is engaged at all levels at all times. This guy lives, breathes and sleeps basketball.”

Next stop on Gilbert’s Hindsight Tour: apologizing to LeBron James for roughly 98% of the players he surrounded James with from 2003 to 2010.