The Regime Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Did the Cleveland Cavaliers tank the 2002-03 season to ensure a better shot at drafting LeBron James? Former Cavs coach John Lucas, who was fired during that season, said he believes that's the case, according to a published report. "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 told AOL FanHouse. "I didn't have a chance. ... You can't fault the Cavaliers for wanting to get LeBron. It was hard to get free agents to come there.'' The Cavaliers finished the 2002-03 season with a 17-65 record, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the worst record in the NBA. Cleveland won the NBA's draft lottery and selected James with the No. 1 pick. Lucas was fired midway through that season. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4825853 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWaLL Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 He should be wearing a Nuggets jersey right now, no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland's Finest Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 LMAO....the Nuggets didn't tank it but the Cavs did? And seriously, don't teams on the decline always trade their best players when they want to rebuild? The wording of this makes it sound like the Cavs quit. I got news, it's called rebuilding. And uh, I really think Cavs fans, looking back on it, wouldn't mind it because look at the Cavs now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenneral Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 To be honest, who cares? If the Cavs tanked so did the Nugs. Either way, it worked out for them and they got their man. Now hopefully he stays put in the off season so they can confidently begin to build around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 14, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Teams tank every year. Look at what Robinson and the Spurs did to get Tim Duncan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Yeah teams all tank in a way to get their player. Cavs' roster that year was just the worst I've seen in all my years though so it makes it extra obvious that they're tanking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.