The Associated Press reports that John Lucas was fired Monday as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the NBA's worst record and have shown few signs of development this season.

Lucas was in his second season with the Cavs, who were to announce his firing at a news conference at Gund Arena, team spokesman Ed Markey said. The 48-year-old Lucas had this season and another remaining on his contract.

Cavs assistant coach Keith Smart was hired as interim coach for the remaining 40 games of the season, the Cavaliers also adding personnel director Mike Bratz to Smart's coaching staff.  Bratz is likely to become the team's lead assistant after Jerry Eaves, who held the job under John Lucas, was let go along with his boss.  Ron Ekker remains the lone holdover.

"I didn't think it was fair to (Cavs owner) Gordon (Gund), the fans or the players not to make the move at this time," Paxson said.

Team owner Gordon Gund was saddened by the move, but believed the change was the best for the team.

"Naturally, I'm disappointed that our team has not grown as expected under John," he said in a prepared statement. "We have a group of very talented players and we still have a lot of games left this season. This is an unfortunate but necessary step to give our team the best chance to develop."

The players, however, did not hesitate to lay some of the blame for the team's performance, or lack thereof, this season.

"We definitely should be further along," guard Bimbo Coles said. "Up until this point, we were pretty much the laughingstock of this league. It was like a circus or a zoo around here. We have talent on this team. Just because we were young, it doesn't mean we can't compete and win basketball games. We should have more wins."

Not suprisingly Lucas was disappointed with the decision, believing he was never placed into a position to win.

"It was a major blow for me," Lucas said yesterday in a telephone interview. "This was a tough job. It was challenging. I'm grateful for the opportunity from Mr. Gund and Jim Paxson. I did the very best I could. I'll miss the players and the camaraderie of the team."

"I thought this was a development year," Lucas said. "With Dajuan Wagner and Carlos Boozer making the Rookie Challenge, Ricky (Davis) was playing well and Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) was having a good offensive year, I thought things were beginning to come around. But we were getting beaten badly. I feel like I was not given a chance to win."