Tweet
Cavaliers fire coach Tyronn Lue after 0-6 start
The Cleveland Cavaliers fired coach Tyronn Lue and named Larry Drew interim coach on Sunday.
Cleveland has started the season with six straight losses.
Drew met with management on Sunday morning to discuss terms of a promotion to interim coach, league sources said. It is possible he'll seek a more permanent appointment. Drew was 8-1 as the interim coach a year ago when Lue was sidelined with illness. He led Atlanta to the playoffs in each of his three years as head coach of the Hawks and spent one year as Milwaukee's head coach in 2013-14.
Lue led the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals, including the 2016 NBA championship. He was 128-83 on the job. Cleveland's ownership and management had hoped the team would compete for a playoff spot, although it might not be realistic with the hole that the loss of LeBron James' leaving in free agency left on the roster.
Sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst that Lue recently had a disagreement with Altman over playing veterans. Altman preferred that Kyle Korver and JR Smith be taken out of the rotation to give time to younger players. After one game in which they didn't play, Lue put both back in the rotation without consulting Altman.
Gilbert has also encouraged more playing time for rookie Collin Sexton, sources told Windhorst. Sexton is averaging just 23.5 minutes per game.
Lue is still owed roughly $15 million on the contract he signed in 2016 after the team won the title, sources said.
Lue played for Doc Rivers in Orlando in 2003 and coached under him in Boston (2009-2013) and Los Angeles (2013-2014) before joining Cleveland's coaching staff in 2014.
The Cavaliers and Drew are still negotiating terms on the length of his interim coaching status, league sources told ESPN. Drew has been reluctant so far to commit to coaching the rest of the regular season without some kind of a contractual agreement that extends beyond 2018-19, league sources said. Drew will run practices and coach the team in the short term, sources said. His contract as the associate head coach expires at the end of the season.
When Lue replaced David Blatt as Cavaliers coach in the 2015-16 season, he was given a deal beyond the balance of that season, and he negotiated a long-term extension after winning a title that spring.
Cleveland has started the season with six straight losses.
Drew met with management on Sunday morning to discuss terms of a promotion to interim coach, league sources said. It is possible he'll seek a more permanent appointment. Drew was 8-1 as the interim coach a year ago when Lue was sidelined with illness. He led Atlanta to the playoffs in each of his three years as head coach of the Hawks and spent one year as Milwaukee's head coach in 2013-14.
Lue led the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals, including the 2016 NBA championship. He was 128-83 on the job. Cleveland's ownership and management had hoped the team would compete for a playoff spot, although it might not be realistic with the hole that the loss of LeBron James' leaving in free agency left on the roster.
Sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst that Lue recently had a disagreement with Altman over playing veterans. Altman preferred that Kyle Korver and JR Smith be taken out of the rotation to give time to younger players. After one game in which they didn't play, Lue put both back in the rotation without consulting Altman.
Gilbert has also encouraged more playing time for rookie Collin Sexton, sources told Windhorst. Sexton is averaging just 23.5 minutes per game.
Lue is still owed roughly $15 million on the contract he signed in 2016 after the team won the title, sources said.
Lue played for Doc Rivers in Orlando in 2003 and coached under him in Boston (2009-2013) and Los Angeles (2013-2014) before joining Cleveland's coaching staff in 2014.
The Cavaliers and Drew are still negotiating terms on the length of his interim coaching status, league sources told ESPN. Drew has been reluctant so far to commit to coaching the rest of the regular season without some kind of a contractual agreement that extends beyond 2018-19, league sources said. Drew will run practices and coach the team in the short term, sources said. His contract as the associate head coach expires at the end of the season.
When Lue replaced David Blatt as Cavaliers coach in the 2015-16 season, he was given a deal beyond the balance of that season, and he negotiated a long-term extension after winning a title that spring.