Lakers fire coach Brown after dismal start: LA Times Fri Nov 9, 2012 2:36pm EST (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown has been fired after a 1-4 start to the season, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The disappointing start by the Lakers, who had the worst record in the Western Conference, followed an off-season in which the NBA team added All-Star center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, a two-time league most valuable player, to their lineup. The Lakers had not yet confirmed the report. Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the Lakers on Friday at home against the Golden State Warriors, a source told ESPN. Brown was in the second year of a four-year, $18 million deal, of which the final year was not fully guaranteed. Last season, the Lakers won the Pacific Division with a 41-25 and reached the conference semi-finals before falling to eventual conference champions Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. The Lakers, hobbled by injuries in the early season, had struggled under a new offensive system installed by Brown. Howard is still recovering his form after back surgery that ended his 2011-12 season, while Nash and fellow-guard Kobe Bryant have been slowed by nagging injuries. The poor start was particularly hard to swallow for the Lakers, who carried the NBA's largest payroll at just over $100 million. The move came less than 48 hours after Lakers owner Jim Buss gave Brown a vote of confidence. Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Gene Cherry