The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Thursday that they have fired coach Byron Scott, according to ESPN.com. Scott led the Cavs to a 64-166 overall record during his three seasons in Cleveland.
The Cavs lost 16 of their final 18 games to finish the season at 24-58, the third-worst record in the NBA. The team blew several large leads, including a 27-point home lead against the Miami Heat in the final weeks of the season.
"I have tremendous respect for Byron professionally and a great deal of admiration for him personally," Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant told ESPN. "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. I believe we needed to make this change in order to get to a better position to achieve our goals."
Scott's tenure in Cleveland will be best known as the post-LeBron James era. James opted to sign with the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010, while Scott was chosen by management to coach the rebuilding mode Cavs.
Scott's teams were marred with poor defense and injuries during his tenure. Cleveland ranked 26th in defensive efficiency in each of the last two seasons and 29th in Scott's first year in 2010-11.
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