Lucas, 48, was in his second season with the Cavs and finished with a 37-87 record in Cleveland.
Smart is in his third season as assistant coach/director of player development for the Cavaliers. The 36-year-old came to Cleveland after three seasons as the head coach of the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association, where his teams compiled an 85-83 record.
Smart, best known for hitting the game winning shot in the 1987 NCAA men's basketball championship game, was a second-round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors out of Indiana.
John Lucas, seen in this file photo, was fired as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. (AP Photo)
He played in only two NBA games with San Antonio and spent nine seasons as a player in the CBA. Smart averaged 10.3 points in 297 games in the CBA.
The Cavaliers, with just eight wins in 42 games this season, have the worst record in the NBA and sit in last place in the Central Division. Cleveland, which has lost its last four games, is just 3-20 on the road this season.
The club is coming off a 95-78 loss to Utah and finished 1-5 on a recent six-game road trip.
Lucas was an assistant with the Denver Nuggets for three seasons before becoming head coach of the Cavs in June of 2001. He has also been the head coach in San Antonio (1992-94) and Philadelphia (1994-96).
His career NBA coaching record is 173-258.
Lucas, who was the top pick in the 1976 draft by the Houston Rockets, played in the NBA for 14 years with six different teams. He retired in 1990 with career averages of 10.7 points and 7.0 assists per game in 928 career outings.
The Cavs finished 2001-02, Lucas' first season as coach, with a 29-53 record. It was the fourth straight season in which they failed to make the playoffs.
Cleveland hosts Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic in their first outing under Smart, kicking off a three-game homestand.
