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Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, shown addressing the media before this season started, fired general manager Chris Grant on Thursday after the team fell to 16-33

(AP)

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- So where does Thursday's firing of General Manager Chris Grant leave the Cavaliers for the final 33 games of the season?

Owner Dan Gilbert made it abundantly clear that Mike Brown was his coach. Acknowledging that no one, including Brown, was happy with how things were going, Gilbert nonetheless endorsed him.

"We’re going to see Mike Brown succeed this year,'' said Gilbert, in spite of the fact that Brown's team takes a 16-33 record into Friday night's game at Washington. "I think he will be able to do good things in the next 30 games or so. I think this team is going to be able to do good things. They’re going to look at each other, look in the mirror, and they’re going to rally. We’re going to do everything we can to give them the air cover they need."

That may include changing the makeup of the team, although Gilbert said of the current roster, "We have what we need.'' He also dismissed recent reports of team discord by saying, "If we were going along as we’ve gone along and there wasn’t discontent, I’d probably be even more concerned.''

Still, while it sounds contrary to those previous statements, Gilbert said he expected acting general manager David Griffin to be active as the Feb. 20 trading deadline approaches.

"I think we’ll be aggressive at the trading deadline -- historically we have, anyway,'' Gilbert said. "I think we will and we potentially have a lot of opportunity there. We’re looking forward to working with David Griffin, and whatever it takes, 24 hours a day for the next two weeks. Hopefully we’ll find opportunities.''

The Cavs do have assets, and Grant positioned them well for a run at a major free agent this summer, in addition to trying to convince the recently acquired Luol Deng to remain.

In the short term, it is believed the only untouchable on the roster is All-Star Kyrie Irving. They have young talent in Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson, as well as veterans with attractive contracts such as Anderson Varejao. They could have as many as four first-round draft picks and four second-round picks in the next two years as a result of deals with Miami, Memphis and Orlando. Grant was loathe to part with first-round picks. It's not known if Griffin shares that view.

Griffin did not meet with reporters on Thursday, but Gilbert was asked if the franchise would be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline.

"I don’t think we’ve looked at it that way,'' Gilbert said. "We’ve looked at it as, 'Is there a move that can be made that can improve the short-term, the long-term prospects of the Cleveland Cavaliers?' That’s the prism of how we look at every potential deal.''

Grant, who joined the Cavs as vice president of basketball operations/assistant general manager in 2005 and was promoted in the summer of 2010 after the resignation of Danny Ferry, won most of the deals he made, including the last one -- acquiring Deng, a two-time All-Star, from the Chicago Bulls for Andrew Bynum and three draft picks. But critics questioned his drafting, especially as rookie Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, got off to a notoriously slow start.

In the past week, there have been numerous stories about unhappy players and internal conflicts, and the play on the court has been disheartening. As the GM, Grant was responsible for putting the group together. In his tenure, the Cavs went 80-199 in the four seasons following the departure of LeBron James.

Grant did not return a message from The Plain Dealer but said in a statement issued by the team, “My entire focus the past eight years has been on trying to build a team that can contend and win and provide Cleveland fans the success that they deserve. I have a tremendous appreciation for the players that are here and the coaches that I have worked with, as well as our front office. I thank them for all of their dedication and commitment to the Cavaliers.”

Gilbert thanked Grant for his work and called him ''a class act and a class guy," then praised the coach he hired and the players he acquired.

"This coaching staff and this team can succeed,'' Gilbert said. "There is just no reason why they can’t. Obviously there’s challenges we’ve all seen. But they can overcome them and they can succeed. I believe in them. I believe the players and this coaching staff can figure it out with a positive outcome. We'll watch and see what happens here.''

As badly as things are going, the owner still would not rule out the goal of making the playoffs.

"That was something I and other people around here put as something we should be able to achieve,'' Gilbert said. "At this point, I haven’t frankly been focusing on our exact games away from the playoffs. We’re focused on the future and the chemistry and the culture and the environment of this team. If we can turn that around, anything can happen. Anything’s possible this season. I can’t sit up here and make exact predictions on where we’ll be.''