Mike Brown Re-uniting With Cleveland Cavaliers [POLL]; Bobcats Fire Dunlap After One Season in NBA Coaching Carousel

It was a contrasting tale of two 'Mikes' on Tuesday as lottery-bound teams continue to assess the best possible option available as they look forward for next season.

After his controversial coaching stint in Hollywood, Mike Brown is back in Cleveland to coach the young and exciting Cavaliers.

Brown, who guided the Cavaliers to five consecutive playoff appearances (NBA Finals appearance in 2007) during the LeBron James era, reportedly signed a five-year, $20 million deal.

The Cavs' head coaching gig became available recently following the ouster of Byron Scott, who managed three consecutive losing seasons.

Brown immediately emerged the favorite to reclaim his old spot in the Cavs bench, although the team also showed interest to possibly bring in legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson to Cleveland.

The Cavs head into the draft lottery with a decent chance of adding a first overall pick to their promising young core led by All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. The team also possessed several trade assets and sizable cap space to ink a max player this summer.

Brown is by far the most successful Cavs coach in history, boasting a 272-138 record with LeBron James as his star player. However, the Cavs decided to sack Brown following an early exit in the playoffs, just weeks ahead of James' decision to join Miami in 2010.

"I'm happy for him, very happy for him. I think he's a really good coach, very defensive-minded coach. It'll be good for the young guys that they have," James told ESPN right after the Heat's 98-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at American Airline Arena.

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Bobcats decided to part ways with Mike Dunlap after a single season.

Dunlap, who was known for developing players while working as an assistant coach at St. John's, couldn't speed up the maturity of Bobcats youngsters as Michael Jordan's ball club went 21-61 last season.

"I just don't think he was a great fit," Bobcats general manager Rich Cho told ESPN on Tuesday. "Probably best that we go in a different direction."

Dunlap gave Bobcats fans a promising start after guiding them to a 7-5 record early in their regular-season campaign. But injuries to key players and the lack of a go-to-guy made it a hard task for the coach to muster a winning slate.

"I am very proud of the effort and hard work that the players demonstrated throughout the season," Dunlap told ESPN of his firing on Tuesday. "I am looking forward to the next chapter in my coaching career."