2000–01 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 2000–01 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 31st season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Cavaliers received the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Jamal Crawford from the University of Michigan, but soon traded him to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for rookie center, and top draft pick Chris Mihm from the University of Texas at Austin.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Chris Gatling and Clarence Weatherspoon from the Miami Heat in a three-team trade,^[5][6][7] Matt Harpring from the Orlando Magic,^[8][9][10] and Robert Traylor from the Milwaukee Bucks,^[11][12] while signing free agent Bimbo Coles.^[13]

With the addition of Gatling, Weatherspoon, Harpring and Mihm, the Cavaliers got off to a strong start winning nine of their first twelve games of the regular season, on their way to a solid 15–7 start to the season. In January, the team traded Brevin Knight to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for former Ohio State University star Jim Jackson.^[14][15][16] However, the Cavaliers struggled losing 23 of their next 28 games, which included a 10-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 20–27 record at the All-Star break.^[17] The Cavaliers finished in sixth place in the Central Division with a disappointing 30–52 record.^[18]

Second-year star Andre Miller averaged 15.8 points, 8.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Lamond Murray averaged 12.8 points per game, and Weatherspoon provided the team with 11.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. In addition, Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed 11.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, but only played just 24 games due to continuing foot injuries,^[19] while Gatling provided with 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game off the bench, Harpring contributed 11.1 points per game, and Mihm averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.^[20]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Miller was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team,^[21][22] while second-year guard Trajan Langdon participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Eva Nemcova of the WNBA's Cleveland Rockers.^[23][24] The Cavaliers finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 650,775 at the Gund Arena during the regular season.^[20][25]

Following the season, Randy Wittman was fired as head coach, while Gatling was traded back to the Miami Heat,^[26][27] Jackson signed as a free agent with the Heat during the next season,^[28][29] Weatherspoon signed with the New York Knicks,^[30][31] and Harpring was traded along with Traylor to the Philadelphia 76ers,^[32][33][34] who then sent Traylor to the Charlotte Hornets.