Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 57 – NBA Blog

Cavaliers welcome top pick Anthony Bennett

Anthony Bennett wasn’t really all that interested in playing basketball. Yeah, it was cool dunking on guys, and a great way to make new friends after moving from Toronto to the city’s suburbs.

Then, he decided to get serious about six or seven years ago.

His future was calling.

”I just started growing,” Bennett said, flashing a smile while talking about his unique path to the NBA. ”And everyone said, ‘You should probably play basketball.’ So I said, ‘All right. I’ll give it a shot.’ Look where it got me now.”

Look indeed.

Bennett was formally introduced Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who shocked the draft by selecting the UNLV power forward with the No. 1 overall pick on Thursday night.

Although he wasn’t regarded by many draft experts as the best player available, Bennett was always at the top of Cleveland’s board. They scouted the 6-foot-7, 240-pounder extensively all season, fell in love with his game and after getting rave reviews about his character, chose him over Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. in a flawed draft.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Cavs take Anthony Bennett with No. 1 pick in NBA draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected UNLV freshman Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 pick Thursday night, making him the first Canadian to be the top choice and getting the NBA draft off to a surprising start.

The Cavaliers passed on big men Nerlens Noel and Alex Len, who went to Phoenix at No. 5, in favor of the forward who has starred for Canada’s junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference player of the year.

There was suspense right until the end, either because the Cavs were unsure who they wanted or were trying to trade the pick. Most predictions had them taking one of the big men.

David Stern, booed heavily in his final draft as commissioner, added to the surprise of the moment by pausing slightly before announcing the Cavs’ pick, their first at No. 1 since taking All-Star Kyrie Irving in 2011.

Orlando passed on both of the big men, too, going with Indiana swingman Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick. Washington took Otto Porter Jr. with the third pick, keeping the Georgetown star local.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Cavs mulling options with top pick in NBA draft

Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer ”decision.”

The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make.

And while it doesn’t quite stack up with LeBron James’ infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability.

For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

This year, it’s both a blessing and burden.

With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options.

They’ve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the league’s youngest teams…

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Maryland center Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in the mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and haven’t sniffed the postseason since James left.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Cavs and Bucks interested in Paul Pierce

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams that have expressed trade interest in Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.

But sources told ESPN.com that Pierce is most likely headed to neither one of those teams if he leaves the Celtics this week.

The Celtics do remain hopeful of acquiring a first-round pick for Pierce this week in conjunction with Thursday’s draft. But sources said the Celtics have shown an inclination to try to work with Pierce to get him to a favorable destination — which essentially translates to a contending team — if they indeed decide to trade him by week’s end. The team faces a June 30 deadline to either pick up Pierce’s $15.3 million option for next season or buy him out for $5 million.

Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Cavs adding Igor Kokoskov to coaching staff

Igor Kokoskov is leaving the Phoenix Suns to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff with the Cavaliers, a league source confirmed Wednesday. The move was first reported by ESPN.com and the Arizona Republic.

Kokoskov has been an NBA assistant for 13 years, including the past five with the Suns. He survived three coaches during those five years and was instrumental in assisting inexperienced interim coach Lindsey Hunter this season. He is viewed as a bright offensive mind and became Hunter’s lead assistant after Alvin Gentry was fired at midseason, handling the offense while Hunter ran the defense.

Kokoskov, 41, was a rising basketball star in Serbia, but severe injuries sustained in an automobile accident when he was 19 prematurely ended his career.

Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Blog)

Mike Brown is once again the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers have named seven-year NBA veteran head coach and Cavaliers all-time winningest head coach Mike Brown as the team’s new head coach, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant and majority owner Dan Gilbert announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, “The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the negotiations, said the deal is for “four to five” years. The Internet news site Yahoo! Sports reported the fifth year will contain a buyout and total compensation will be in excess of $20 million. The Los Angeles Times reported Brown’s deal with the Cavs will provide the Lakers some relief (perhaps half) of the roughly $7 million they still owe him.”

Brown, 43, most recently coached the Los Angeles Lakers and was the head coach of the Cavaliers from 2005-10. He has a career head coaching record of 314-167 (.652) which is the 6th highest winning percentage in NBA history among coaches with at least 400 games coached.

“I am more than excited about Mike Brown’s return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mike has done nothing but win in this league since he was a first-year assistant many years ago. He is going to instill a much-needed defensive-first philosophy in our young and talented team that is going to serve as our foundation and identity as we continue down the path of building the kind of franchise that competes at a championship level for many years to come, ” said Gilbert.

Brown has won at least one playoff series every full season he has been a head coach in the NBA. Among head coaches who have coached in the NBA 5-years or longer, Brown and Phil Jackson are the only coaches whom have never missed the playoffs in their entire coaching career.

Brown is also the only head coach in NBA history to win the first round of the playoffs every year of his head coaching career (coached five years or longer).

During Mike’s six full years as an NBA coach with the Cavaliers and the Lakers, Brown had the 2nd highest winning percentage (.657%) among all NBA head coaches who were at the helm four years or longer.

In five seasons with the Cavs, he compiled a record of 272-138 (.663). Brown was named the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year by members of the media and compiled a post season record with the Cavs of 42-29 (.592). He led the team to at least the second round of the post season in each of his five seasons, including Cleveland’s first ever trip to the NBA Finals in 2007.

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Cavaliers set to hire Mike Brown as coach

Mike Brown and the Cavaliers have reached a handshake agreement on a new deal, a league source told the Akron Beacon Journal on Tuesday. An official announcement should be made Wednesday.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

Brown is the Cavs’ most successful coach in team history and his .653 winning percentage ranks sixth all-time (minimum 450 games) among coaches. His hiring marks a fascinating return to the organization that fired him just three years ago in a futile attempt to keep LeBron James in Cleveland.

Brown is 314-167 in parts of seven seasons and his team has reached the playoffs and won in the first round in each of his six full seasons. Brown was fired five games into this season by the Los Angeles Lakers, but returns to a Cavs team that has spent the last three years rebuilding under Byron Scott, who was fired last week after compiling a 64-166 record in three years.

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Byron Scott disappointed that Cavs fired him

Former Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told The Plain Dealer today that he didn’t think he got a fair shake from the team that fired him on Thursday.

“I’m disappointed, more than anything,” Scott said in a telephone interview. “I don’t think I got a fair shake.”

Scott was informed of his firing on Thursday morning, after the team lost 16 of its last 18 games to finish this season 24-58. That gave him a three-year record of 64-166.

He said he spent several hours at the Cavs practice facility in Independence on Thursday, exchanging words, hugs and tears with players before leaving about 2 p.m. He expects to return to his home in California on Saturday, but will come back at least once to pack up his office.

“I’ll land on my feet,” he said.

— Reported by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers fire coach Byron Scott

The Cleveland Cavaliers have released Head Coach Byron Scott, the team announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. The announcement was made by Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant.

“I have tremendous respect for Byron professionally and a great deal of admiration for him personally. At the same time, it is critical for where we are as a team to ensure that we capitalize on every opportunity for development and success and we have fallen short of that on the court,” said Grant. “I believe we needed to make this change in order to get to a better position to achieve our goals. I know I speak on behalf of the entire Cavs organization and the Cleveland community, in thanking Byron for his three years here and his hard work and many contributions on and off the court. We wish Bryon and his wife, Anita, the best.”

Scott, 52, was named the 18th head coach in Cleveland Cavaliers history on July 1, 2010. The Cavaliers’ record during Scott’s tenure as Head Coach was 64-166.

“I want to thank Chris Grant, Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers organization for the opportunity I had to coach this team the last three seasons,” said Scott. “Anita and I have enjoyed our time here in Cleveland and greatly appreciate the support we received from this special community and the many friendships we developed. I am certainly proud of the progress that many of our players have made and greatly appreciate the dedication of my coaches and our team in our efforts to attain the success we all desired.”

The Cavaliers will immediately commence a search, led by General Manager Chris Grant, for the team’s next head coach.

“I wish Byron Scott and his entire family the best going forward. Byron is a class guy, both on and off the court, and I thank him for his three years of coaching the Cavaliers,” said Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert.

“I fully support the difficult move that was made today. Although we saw progress with young individual player development, we did not see the kind of progress we expected on the team level this past season. We understand it was challenging with the injuries, but when you are at our stage in the building process, you don’t only measure team progress in wins and losses.

It has been our strong and stated belief that when our team once again returns to competing at the NBA’s highest levels it will be because we have achieved our goals on the defensive side of the court.

Our fans have been incredibly loyal and supportive during these transition years. They deserve better than we have been delivering as of late and it is our full intent to deliver them the kind of competitive team that they expect to see on the court beginning next season,” Gilbert concluded.

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Kyrie Irving apologizes for skipping fan event

Cavaliers All-Star guard Kyrie Irving apologized for skipping a postgame ceremony for fans following Cleveland’s final home game on Monday against Miami.

Irving was stripped of the ball by Norris Cole in the closing seconds of the 96-95 loss to the Heat, who rested LeBron James and most of their stars. Irving immediately ran off the floor and to the locker room instead of participating in a jersey giveaway on ”Fan Appreciation Night.” All the Cavs players handed out their game-worn jerseys and sneakers.

Irving, the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year, posted an apology on his Twitter account for missing the event.

”I want to personally apologize to all the Cavs fans for my actions yesterday,” Irving wrote. ”It was truly unfair to you guys. I’m very appreciative for all of you guys. Your love and passion for the organization and city is what pushes me to be great.”

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press