Jim Boylan Sues Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman for Age Discrimination

Former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jim Boylan is suing the team for age discrimination.

According to WKYC's Ben Axelrod, the Cavaliers, owner Dan Gilbert and general manager Koby Altman are listed as defendants in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was officially filed Thursday in Cuyahoga County.

Cleveland parted ways with Boylan following the 2017-18 season.

In the lawsuit, the 63-year-old Boylan detailed a voicemail he said he received from then-Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue in June:

"On or about June 17, 2018, then-Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue left Coach Boylan a voicemail, informing him his employment would end, in which Coach Lue said: 'Jimbo, what's up, yo? This is T Lue. I had a talk with Koby yesterday. He does not want to pick up your option. He said it's way too much money. They're not gonna pay that kind of money for three assistants on the bench. He wants to go younger in that position and, you know, find somebody who's a grinder and younger in that position. And he said he does not want to pick the option up for I guess it's 500 or—I'm not sure. He said five something. And he just said it's too much money, he said, so we'll be paying [Mike] Longabardi and LD [Larry Drew]. So he just said he wanted to go younger at that position and he does not want to pick up the option.'"

Damon Jones, 42, was promoted in Boylan's place; however, he was fired along with Lue this week. Drew is currently serving as the Cavs' acting head coach.

Boylan alleges in the lawsuit that Gilbert has shown "a pattern and practice of age discrimination across" the organizations he controls, including the Cavaliers.

Per Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin, the Cavaliers released a statement regarding the lawsuit Friday:

The Cavs shot down Boylan's claim of age discrimination, adding that Boylan and the organization had negotiated an option in his contract that the team declined for the 2018-19 season.

Boylan joined the Cavs as an assistant coach for the 2013-14 season after serving as the Milwaukee Bucks' head coach the previous year.

He was part of the Cavaliers coaching staff when they won the first NBA championship in franchise history in 2016 as well.

Boylan is currently without a coaching job in the NBA for the first time since the 2002-03 season.