CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Cavaliers are keeping coach Mike Brown – for now.
Team owner Dan Gilbert refuted a report on Friday that Brown had been fired.
“That’s not true,” he said during a news conference. “We are right now just going through the evaluation process.”
He said the team expected to have answers in the next week to ten days.
“I don’t think it’s a secret coaching is one of the things we’ll look at,” Gilbert said.
Brown was the league’s Coach Of The Year last season when the Cavs won 66 games.
Cleveland lost to Orlando in the conference finals, however, and it was assumed Brown would have to get the team closer to a championship to keep his job.
Instead, the Cavs regressed.
They were badly outplayed by the Celtics, who won the last two games played in Cleveland by a combined 50 points. But Gilbert insisted the team didn’t quit against Boston.
“It’s one of those things that you can’t believe it after it’s happened,” Gilbert said. “I feel bad for the fans more than anybody.”
The loss opened up the possibility of a major shakeup as two-time MVP LeBron James prepares for free agency.The LeBron watch began at 10:53 p.m. on Thursday, when Rondo dribbled out the last 14 seconds and the Celtics began celebrating their 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven series.
James is eligible to opt out of his contract this summer, a move that would make the two-time MVP – and zero-time NBA champion – a free agent and set off a scramble for his services from New York to Miami to Los Angeles and, of course, back in Cleveland.
“Of course, we fully believe that, sweepstakes, in the running, whatever, I think this is the best franchise for him to play at,” Gilbert said. (AP)
