UPDATE 2:50 PM: He may not have it for that much longer, but Mike Brown is still the Cavaliers coach, said team owner Dan Gilbert in a press conference Friday afternoon.
“That’s not true,” Gilbert said of the report from Sports Illustrated that Brown has been fired. “Right now we are going through the evaluating process. Talking to Mike Brown, Danny Ferry.”
Sports Illustrated is not backing down, as the magazine’s Chris Mannix tweeted:
Gilbert said every aspect of the basketball operations would be looked at, with a decision to come in the next seven to 10 days. Gilbert also said that General Manager Danny Ferry’s job will be evaluated.
This may well be a formality. Nobody expects Mike Brown to have his job in a few weeks, likely not even Mike Brown. But there are serious questions for the team to address including how it was built -- Brown is a defense-first coach who was given defensively challenged players like Shaq and Antawn Jamison to work with this year. Gilbert seems to understand the review for the franchise needs to be total.
1:54 pm: The rumor mill had been buzzing almost since the clock expired last night and it was going full steam this morning -- Mike Brown was on his way out as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s still expected. But has it happened yet?
Sports Illustrated says yes, citing two league sources.
The most reliable source for Cavaliers news -- Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plains Dealer -- says no. Adding at least not yet.
CBS’s Ken Berger backs up Windhorst. ESPN’s Ric Bucher and Chris Broussard said the same thing.
It’s going to happen, it’s all about the timing. This may be about the details of how and when he is fired, he may still have his job right now but everyone does know it is coming.
We will find out more when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert speaks to the media at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, although this press conference is not supposed to be about Brown.