Cavaliers still send paychecks to Warriors coach Mike Brown

First, he’s acting Golden State Warriors head coach for Steve Kerr. Thursday night, he won his first Finals game. It came against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are still sending him regular paychecks and will be until 2020.

“It feels a little surreal,” Brown said. “Right now, I’m just kind of taking everything in stride.”

Brown was able to drive a fantastic deal for himself in the spring of 2013 when the Cavs fired Byron Scott. Brown's deal was for more than $20 million over five years, though the last year of the deal was partially guaranteed.

When Brown was fired in May of 2014, a provision in the contract spread the payments out over the next six years. Brown will get all the money guaranteed him, with the amount he’s paid as part of his Golden State Warriors contract being deducted, and the Cavs pay the balance. This is known as an “offset.”

"Yeah, it was a mistake [to fire him in 2010]. Sure, it was a mistake," Gilbert said four years ago. "We have the benefit of hindsight right now, and in hindsight, it was a mistake. We are very happy that we get to rectify any position we took back then. Maybe he's meant to be here."

He was not, as it turned out. Brown was fired a year later with three fully guaranteed seasons left on the deal. The Cavs had gone 33-49 and Brown didn’t connect with Irving, the team’s young franchise player. Midway through the season, Grant was fired and Brown followed as Gilbert changed his course of thinking.

The threat of Gilbert’s changing moods is why Brown got himself that contract and why today he finds himself in an advantageous position.

“You would call it luck, being blessed, being in the right spot at the right time,” Brown said. “It’s the circle of life like 'The Lion King.' Everything comes back around, I guess.”

Briljantan potez Cavsa, plaćaju trenera koji će ih (vjerojatno) pobijedit u velikom finalu