Paul Silas was fired as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday with his team fighting for a playoff spot after being in first place earlier in the year.
Silas told the Associated Press he was called in Monday morning for a brief meeting with general manager Jim Paxson and new owner Dan Gilbert.
"They released me," Silas said. "They didn't think the team was performing as well as it should be and they wanted to make a change."
Despite having league superstar LeBron James, the Cavaliers have struggled since the All-Star break, losing nine of 12 and nine straight road games, including Sunday's 105-98 loss to Toronto when James scored a franchise-record 56.
Silas said he was not given a detailed explanation of why he was fired, but there have been issues over the last few weeks that have resulted in the Cavaliers' slide after they went into the All-Star break 30-21.
It all may have culminated Sunday when Silas benched starting guard Jeff McInnis and replaced him with Eric Snow. Snow did not score in Cleveland's loss at Toronto and McInnis, despite dressed and available, didn't play.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/8313108