2004–05 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 2004-05 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 35th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. During the offseason, the Cavaliers acquired Drew Gooden from the Orlando Magic. In his second season, expectations were high for LeBron James as the Cavaliers hoped for a return to the playoffs. Through the first half of the season, the Cavs held a 30–21 record at the All-Star Break as James was selected to his first All-Star selection in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game. However, as March began, the Cavaliers were unable to upgrade at the trading deadline as the team went on a 6-game losing streak. Head coach Paul Silas was fired and replaced by interim Brendan Malone. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 42–40 record, a fourth-place finish in the Central Division, and barely missed out of the playoffs, losing a tiebreaker for the 8th spot to the New Jersey Nets. Bespite their collapse, James had an outstanding sophomore season averaging 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.

Key dates:

• On June 24, the 2004 NBA Draft, took place in New York City, New York.
• In July, the free agency period began.
• On September 15, the Cavaliers named Brendan Malone assistant coach.
• On October 14, the Cavaliers' preseason began with a 94–102 loss to Memphis.
• On November 3, the Cavaliers' regular season began with a 104–109 2OT loss to Indiana.
• On March 21, head coach Paul Silas was fired and Brendan Malone was named interim head coach. Mike Bratz and Wes Wilcox were added to Malone's staff as assistants.
• On April 20, the Cavaliers' season ended in a 104–95 win over the Toronto Raptors.
• On April 21, Jim Paxson was fired as President of Basketball Operations and General Manager.

Offseason

Free Agents

^*Selected in expansion draft

Trades

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	10	Luke Jackson	Guard	United States	Oregon

• 2nd round pick (#39) traded to Toronto in Michael Stewart deal.^[1] Used to draft Albert Miralles who was then traded to Miami.

Roster

Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players	Coaches
[[:Category:|]] Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 6.0 !C 52 SEN ! Diop, DeSagana 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Oak Hill Academy 4.5 !PF 90 USA ! Gooden, Drew 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Kansas 2.0 !SG 12 USA ! Harris, Lucious 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach State 6.0 !C 11 LTU ! Ilgauskas, Zydrunas 7000220980000000000♠7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Lithuania 2.0 !SG 33 USA ! Jackson, Luke 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon 3.0 !SF 23 USA ! James, LeBron 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) St. Vincent-St. Mary's 1.0 !PG 0 USA ! McInnis, Jeff 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 179 lb (81 kg) North Carolina 3.0 !SF 14 USA ! Newble, Ira 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Miami (OH) 2.0 !SG 3 Serbia ! Pavlović, Sasha 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Serbia 1.0 !PG 20 USA ! Snow, Eric 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Michigan State 5.5 !F/C 32 USA ! Traylor, Robert 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Michigan 4.5 !PF 17 BRA ! Varejão, Anderson 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Brazil 1.0 !PG 2 USA ! Wagner, Dajuan 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Memphis 2.5 !G/F 44 CZE ! Welsch, Jiří 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Czech Republic 5.5 !F/C 47 USA ! Williams, Scott 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina	Head coach Brendan Malone (Iona) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Game log

Player stats

Regular season

* Statistics include only games with the Cavaliers

References

• Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball
• Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference
• 2004-05 Season Media Guide