Cavs send Mike Brown packing

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired coach Mike Brown after five seasons for failing to win an NBA title with LeBron James.

Brown's dismissal has been expected since the Cavs were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs.

In five seasons, Brown, who had one year left on his contract, went 272-138 (.663) and was the league's coach of the year in 2009. But the Cavs fell short of winning their first title and now face an uncertain future with James, the league's two-time defending MVP, eligible for free agency.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert made the decision to fire Brown following an organizational review that began following the Cavs' stunning collapse. Cleveland, which had the best record in the NBA the past two seasons, had a 2-1 series lead over the Celtics before losing three straight, including the final two at home by a combined 50 points.

"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 said Monday in a statement released by the team. "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."

Brown was voted the league's coach of the year last season when the Cavs won 66 games. However, Cleveland lost to Orlando in the conference finals and it was assumed Brown would have to get the team closer to a championship to keep his job.

But the Cavs regressed and were badly outplayed by the Celtics. The embarrassing home performances, coupled with the early exit forced Gilbert to make a difficult decision on Brown, who won 127 regular-season games the past two seasons and took Cleveland to its only finals visit in 2007.

With James moving toward free agency, the Cavs needed to show the superstar they are willing to make changes to win and dismissing Brown, however painful, may have been necessary to re-sign James.