NBA: Former Coach Lucas Thinks Cavs Tanked to Get LeBron
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Jan 14 2010, 12:01 PM
John Lucas may sound like a bitter former employee accusing his old bosses of being mean to him. And then again, maybe he has a point. He gave an interview to www.fanhouse.com that basically says his front office was throwing games. He was coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 03-04 season and they had an outside shot at the playoffs when they suddenly decide to trade all of their top tier talent to "go young" for the last part of the season. Results? They ended up losing more a lot more then they won and they best odds to land King James.
During the 2002-03 season, Lucas was coach of the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers. He believes team brass had a mission to lose enough games to get a shot at James, then a hot-shot senior 40 miles down the road at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.
"They trade all our guys away and we go real young, and the goal was to get LeBron and also to sell the team,'' Lucas said in an interview with FanHouse. "I didn't have a chance. ... You can't fault the Cavaliersfor wanting to get LeBron. It was hard to get free agents to come there.''
Gordon Gund, then the principal owner and now a Cavaliers' minority owner, denied the team was tanking during that 17-65 season to get James, who would go to Cleveland with the No. 1 pick after it won the 2003 draft
via nba.fanhouse.com
John Lucas may sound like a bitter former employee accusing his old bosses of being mean to him. And then again, maybe he has a point. He gave an interview to www.fanhouse.com that basically says his front office was throwing games. He was coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 03-04 season and they had an outside shot at the playoffs when they suddenly decide to trade all of their top tier talent to "go young" for the last part of the season. Results? They ended up losing more a lot more then they won and they best odds to land King James.
During the 2002-03 season, Lucas was coach of the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers. He believes team brass had a mission to lose enough games to get a shot at James, then a hot-shot senior 40 miles down the road at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.
"They trade all our guys away and we go real young, and the goal was to get LeBron and also to sell the team,'' Lucas said in an interview with FanHouse. "I didn't have a chance. ... You can't fault the Cavaliersfor wanting to get LeBron. It was hard to get free agents to come there.''
Gordon Gund, then the principal owner and now a Cavaliers' minority owner, denied the team was tanking during that 17-65 season to get James, who would go to Cleveland with the No. 1 pick after it won the 2003 draft
via nba.fanhouse.com
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