The most successful coach in Cavaliers history is now a former coach.

In a move expected since the team lost three consecutive games to be upset by the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, the Cavs fired coach Mike Brown on Sunday according to a league source. The news was first reported by ESPN.

It ended his run as the franchise’s 17th coach after five seasons in which he broke numerous team records and was named the NBA’s 2008-09 Coach of the Year.

The team announced the firing this morning. The reason the act had to be done before the end of the weekend was there was a clause in Brown’s contract, an extension signed in 2007, that guaranteed him about half of his salary for next season of $4 million if he was let go within 10 days of the end of this season.

Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert, who hand picked Brown and gave him his first head coaching job after an extensive coaching search in 2005, is believed to have been the driving force behind the decision. Though it followed more than a week of intensive meetings in which the merits and drawbacks of a coaching changed were deeply discussed.

Some Cavs’ players, including LeBron James, also seemed to lose patience with Brown after some of his adjustments and rotations didn’t work against the Celtics in the playoffs.

Brown (via John Kuntz | The Plain Dealer)

However, James is not believed to have made a personal push with management for a coaching change. He left it to the front office to make the final decision.

Brown seemed to struggle with his rotations after having to incorporate Shaquille O’Neal back into the team in the playoffs after O’Neal missed the final six weeks of the season. He started a lineup in the first game of the playoffs that he hadn’t used all season and the turbulence from multiple players changing roles appeared to upset the balance of the team.

Those problems plus, according to sources, some disagreement over some game plans for playoff games with some of the team leaders eventually led to some discord in the locker room during the Celtics series.

The day Brown was hired, June 2, 2005, he promised he would make the Cavs a defense-based team. It was a pledge he would back up, using defense to win 100 regular games and four playoff series in just his first two seasons.

After some improvement in his first season, Brown’s help-and-recover defensive system started to take hold. In the 2006-07 season, the Cavs allowed just 92 points a game in the regular season and just 86 points a game in the playoffs as the Cavs reached their first-ever Finals.

When the Cavs won a team-record 66 games in the ’08-09 season, the Cavs allowed just 91 points a game and 43 percent opponent shooting.

Perhaps some of Brown’s strongest work was his ability to help James become a better defender. After being suspect on defense his first two seasons in the NBA, James steadily improved under Brown. He was named first team All-Defense in each of the last two seasons.

But over the last two seasons, Brown’s defense has struggled in the clutch. In losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009, the Cavs allowed 103 points per game and 48 percent shooting. In getting ousted by the Celtics in the second round this year, the Cavs gave up 100 points and 47 percent shooting per game.

During his tenure Brown was often criticized for his offensive systems. But over the last two years made assistant coaches offensive coordinators and the Cavs had their best offensive year in Brown’s tenure this season. The Cavs were one of the top six offensive teams in the league, averaging 102 points and shooting 48 percent per game.

Brown’s regular season record was 272-138, a .663 winning percentage that was the best in team history. Brown also set a team record for playoff wins, finishing 42-29.

“I have truly enjoyed working with Mike Brown.  Mike has played a huge role in turning around the Cavs organization,” said Danny Ferry in a statement released by the Cavaliers this morning. “Over the past five years, Mike established a work ethic, defensive identity and culture of winning that was not here previously.”

Brown was named the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year by members of the media.

“Mike Brown is a class act. On behalf of the entire Cavaliers organization, there is only gratitude and appreciation for Mike’s accomplishments over the past five years,” stated Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert. “I think it is clear that Mike Brown has been instrumental in contributing to the growth and progress we have experienced in recent years. We wish Mike and his family the best of luck in any future challenges that Mike chooses to accept going forward.”

“After a long and deep analysis of all of the factors that led to the disappointing early ends to our playoff runs over the past two seasons, we concluded that it was time for the Cavaliers to move in a different direction,” Gilbert added. “The expectations of this organization are very high and, although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment. This is one of those times.”

Copyright Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Ohio – LeBron James of the Cavaliers will become the 10th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards when results of the nationwide voting are announced on Sunday, sources have told The Plain Dealer.

James is expected to have a press conference at The University of Akron and accept the Maurice Podoloff Trophy and the Kia car that comes with the honor Sunday.

Last season, when James won for the first time, he accepted at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron

James played numerous high school games at Akron’s Rhodes Arena, is a supporter of the Zips basketball program and head coach Keith Dambrot, and holds his annual Nike camp for the top high school prospects at the university’s facilities.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is expected to formally give James the trophy before Monday’s Game 2 against the Boston Celtics at The Q.

At age 25, James becomes the second-youngest to win back-to-back MVPs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a couple of months younger when he won his back-to-back award in 1972. The others two win back-to-back are Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Abdul-Jabbar. Only Bird, Chamberlain and Russell ever won the award three years in a row.

Last year James won in a landslide, getting 109 of the first-place 121 votes given out to sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league. This year, James is expected to approach winning the award unanimously.

However, several voters have said they did not plan to vote for James. This year the NBA also allowed fans to vote, with their preference to make up the 122nd vote. The results of the voting will be announced Sunday by the league.

James averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game in leading the Cavs to a second consecutive 60-win season. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month four times during the season.

It looks like there will be a revamp of the current colors, jerseys and logos starting next year. We will probably get a peak at what they will be by the end of the year.  So there is one more reason to buy more LeBron Jerseys (if he stays) other than him switching to #6.

Here are the highlights:

• Current metallic gold will be replace by a yellowish gold closer to the 70s color
• The “Cavaliers” and “Cleveland” script across the chest of the jerseys will have a new design (rumored to be block letters).
• Cavaliers Logo will change to feature “crossing swords” (no jokes please)

Ready Windy’s full article below:

“It may seem like no team in the NBA wears as many different uniforms as the Cavaliers. Well, there’s more — with completely different styles — on the way.

The Cavs are planning on slightly changing their team colors and also revamping their standard home and road uniforms for next season. The idea has been in the works for about two years, the amount of time the team must give the league before making a uniform adjustment, but the designs are not finalized.

It will not be a major change, team sources said, like seven years ago when the team brought back its current “new expression of wine and gold” and a new logo featuring crossing swords. The team’s logos will stay basically the same, but there’s going to be a brighter yellow featured.

Also, the front of the uniforms are expected to undergo a design change with a different presentation of the word “Cavaliers” on the home white and alternate blue uniforms and a different style of “Cleveland” on the wine road jerseys.

Currently, the Cavs use a pale shade of gold. That is one of the reasons why the gold has been less emphasized in recent years. There is virtually no gold used on the current floor design and very little on the standard uniforms. Blue has emerged as the team’s secondary color by default. The new gold color will be more vibrant, closer to the original gold the team used in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The team hopes to finalize and unveil its new uniforms by the end of the season.”

Also, via Windy’s podcast, Z is feeling shakey about re-joining the team that has a full roster.  In other-words, he would feel guilty forcing the Cavs to cut one of the guys.

Z Just Prior to Being the First Person to Ever "Dunk" a Bowling Ball

LeBron James fans, get ready to make some room in your closet for No. 6 jerseys.

James told The Plain Dealer on Monday that he’s filed the paperwork with the NBA office to switch his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 next season. He had to make the decision this week, the deadline to make the request to the NBA is Wednesday.

James first brought up the idea in November, saying he wanted to give up No. 23 out of respect to his hero, Michael Jordan. At that time he said he was “50/50″ on switching to No. 6, his Olympic number and the day of the month his first son was born. That now seems to be 100 percent.

“I’ve done it,” James said. “I already sent it in. I’m going to be No. 6.”

The NBA does not have to fulfill the request, players who don’t change teams have to apply to change their number in March before the previous season. However, the wave of new jersey sales the switch promises to trigger would likely be too enticing for the league to turn down.

In 2006, Kobe Bryant requested his number to be changed from No. 8 to No. 24. The NBA approved the move and Bryant’s jerseys quickly shot to No. 1 in sales across the world. James has been in the top three in jersey sales in the U.S., China and Europe in recent years but hasn’t enjoyed the top spot for several years.

Player do not directly benefit from merchandise sales, however. It goes into a league-wide pool that is distributed to teams and then players based on seniority.

Jordan, of course, also pulled such a move. He switched to No. 45 for part of a season when he came out of retirement for the first time with the Chicago Bulls.

Other than playing for Team USA, the last time James did not wear No. 23 was during his freshman year of high school when he wore No. 32 because a senior was wearing 23.

Via Brian Windhorst at the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

CLEVELAND — For the first time since establishing it as their affiliate, the Cavaliers are going to pluck a player from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

According to a source, the team will sign Cleveland State product Cedric Jackson to a 10-day contract on Saturday.

Jackson, a 6-3 rookie guard, will give the Cavs instant point guard help following injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West. Jackson is averaging 14.7 points and 7.6 assists with the  BayHawks. He’s coming off a game in which he scored 34 points.

Erie runs some of the same offensive plays and defenses that the Cavs run, part of the partnership

Cedric Jackson

established between the teams. BayHawks coach John Treloar works with the Cavs coaches in training camp.

The Cavs lost Williams to a shoulder sprain on Tuesday then Thursday West fractured the ring finger on his left hand. Tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday showed West’s injury wasn’t serious but he’s expected to miss a couple games. Getting Jackson will give the Cavs an extra ball handler plus a player who knows the offense and is regarded as a solid defensive player.

Jackson helped the Vikings to a Horizon League Tournament title last year and an upset of Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

I will add the big guy to the site once cavs.com makes it official. But if Windhorst reports it, its probably true.

I am going to be bummed seeing Z as a bench guy, even though I knew it would happen some day

Get Well Soon.

Crunch and Dcass