The 2001–02 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 32nd season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season The Cavaliers received the eighth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected high school center DeSagana Diop. During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Cavaliers forward Tyrone Hill, and Jumaine Jones from the Philadelphia 76ers, acquired Ricky Davis from the Miami Heat in a three-team trade, acquired Michael Doleac from the Orlando Magic on draft day, and signed free agents Bryant Stith and Brian Skinner. The team also hired John Lucas as their new head coach.
Regular season Under Lucas and with the addition of Hill, Davis and Jones, the Cavaliers got off to a horrible start by losing nine of their first eleven games of the regular season, then suffered a 12-game losing streak in January. Hill only played just 26 games due to sore back spasms, and Diop failed to live up to expectations only playing just 18 games due to knee, ankle and foot injuries. The Cavaliers lost 50 games for the third consecutive season, finishing in seventh place in the Central Division with a 29–53 record.
Lamond Murray averaged 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and contributed 101 three-point field goals, while Andre Miller averaged 16.5 points, 10.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and Wesley Person provided the team with 15.1 points per game, and also led them with 143 three-point field goals. In addition, Davis contributed 11.7 points per game off the bench, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas averaged 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, Jones provided with 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds, and second-year center Chris Mihm contributed 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Hill averaged 8.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, Doleac provided with 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and Skinner contributed 3.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Person participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, while Mihm was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team. Miller finished tied in ninth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Person and Davis both finished tied in 16th place; Davis also finished tied in eighth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
The Cavaliers finished 23rd in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 596,115 at the Gund Arena during the regular season.
Aftermath Following the season, Murray was traded to the Toronto Raptors, while Miller and Stith were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Person was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft day.
Offseason
Free agents
Trades
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club Team 1 8 Desagana Diop Center 1 20* Brendan Haywood (traded to Orlando) Center North Carolina 2 36 Jeff Trepagnier Guard Southern California
*1st round pick acquired from Miami in Shawn Kemp three-way deal with Portland.Heat acquire forward Brian Grant in a three-way trade with Cleveland and Portland in which Miami sent forward Clarence Weatherspoon, forward Chris Gatling and a conditional first-round draft choice to the Cavaliers; Portland sent Brian Grant to Miami and guard Gary Grant to Cleveland and the Cavaliers sent forward Shawn Kemp to the Trail Blazers. http://www.nba.com/heat/history/keydates_transactions_2000.html Haywood traded to Orlando in Michael Doleac deal.On draft day, Magic trade Michael Doleac to Cavaliers for rights to Brendan Haywood http://www.nbadraft.net/2001.htm
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 16 || November 29, 2001 || Atlanta | L 96–105
| Gund Arena11,201 | 5–11
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 58 || March 2, 2002 || @ Atlanta | L 81–84
| Philips Arena15,878 | 21–37 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 60 || March 5, 2002 || Atlanta | W 103–96
| Gund Arena9,915 | 22–38
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 80 || April 13, 2002 || @ Atlanta | L 123–128 (2 OT)
| Philips Arena15,282 | 29–51
Player stats
Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPGLamond Murray716832.643.642.481.75.22.21.00.616.6Andre Miller818137.345.425.381.74.710.91.60.416.5Wesley Person787835.849.544.479.83.82.21.00.515.1Ricky Davis82823.848.131.479.03.02.20.80.311.7Zydrunas Ilgauskas622321.442.50.075.45.41.10.31.411.1Jumaine Jones813626.444.831.066.26.01.40.90.68.3Tyrone Hill262631.239.00.065.010.50.90.70.58.0Chris Mihm746022.442.042.969.35.30.30.21.27.7Trajan Langdon44010.839.836.591.31.31.40.30.14.8Michael Doleac421516.841.70.082.64.00.60.40.34.6Bryant Stith50513.337.235.384.61.70.80.60.14.2Brian Skinner65817.054.30.060.84.30.30.40.93.4Bimbo Coles47114.738.420.089.21.22.30.30.13.2Jeff Trepagnier1206.430.40.057.11.01.00.70.31.5DeSagana Diop1816.141.40.020.00.90.30.10.61.4
Player statistics citation:
Awards and records
Records
Milestones
All-Star
Transactions
Trades
Free agents
Development League
References
Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference