Gone Griff
2017-06-28
I respect the hell out of David Griffin, not necessarily for the moves he made as the Cavs general manager, but for his steady positivity during turbulent times, and his strength to build a championship roster while he was battling cancer. While former Cavs point man Chris Grant has been virtually blackballed by the league, I look forward to Griffin landing another gig and I’ll be rooting for him.
Griffin inherited the top personnel position with the organization after the justifiable firing of Chris Grant during the 2013-14 season. Griffin’s interim tag was removed from his title a few months later, and was the in charge of the organization during the best three-year run in the franchises history, climaxing with the team winning the title in a seven game battle against the greatly favored Warriors.
I’m not going to waste your time or mine putting together a list of every single transaction Griff made. I’m not going to criticize him for signing Seth Curry for a week and throwing him back into the lake because he needed some more time to grow. Danny Ferry made plenty of terrible moves while he was GM. Releasing Danny Green wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t the same player as he is today.
It’s easy to pile on Dan Gilbert for the parting, and many have. Gilberts biggest misfire in the whole situation is not having a transition strategy beyond Chauncey Billups waiting until Game of Thrones returns to decide if he’s going to take millions of dollars to run the second best team in the league.
I kicked around how I wanted to tackle this article for a few days. I initially wanted to do a Duel on Griff, but there were no takers to defend him. I then moved towards listing his three best and worst moves as GM, but I scratched that after I kept seeing shades of bad in even his best moves.
I also omitted LeBron’s return, and his re-signings since because LeBron doesn’t care who the GM is. He walked away from arguably the best roster constructor in the business in Pat Riley to return to the trainwreck that was the Cavs organization with a rookie GM and head coach. If the GM was a chicken wearing pants, it would have no affect on LeBron staying or going next summer. Everyday that passes and Billups doesn’t accept the deal, a chicken wearing pants running the organization seems more and more plausible. If said chicken could play piano also, I’d be openly rooting for him to become the GM.
February 20, 2014 – Spencer Hawes was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Earl Clark, Henry Sims, a 2014 2nd round pick (CLE own), and a 2014 2nd round pick (MEM own).
Yay – Hawes was purely a rental as he was set to become a free agent the following July. He did stretch the floor for the Cavs and he averaged a career high of 13.5 points per game and shot a sizzling 44% from downtown during his brief tenure in the Forrest City.
Boo – I get that 2nd round picks seem worthless, but they are ideal for draft in stash prospects and you could build a vicious playoff team with draft and stash 2nd rounders over the past decade. The Sixers selected decent rotation player Jerami Grant at 39 and Serbian draft and stash prospect Vasilije Micic at 52. The Nuggets drafted supernova Nikola Jokic at 41. Lawd.
June 26, 2014 – The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Andrew Wiggins with Pick 1, and Joe Harris with Pick 33 in the 2014 draft.
Yay – After a foot injury a week before the draft took Joel Embiid off the the Cavs draft board, Griff made the right call in selecting Wiggins with the first pick of the draft. Wiggins had the right combination of high ceiling and tantalizing athleticism that would attract any team to his potential.
Boo – The selection used on Joe Harris was a premium pick at the top of the second round, and he’s never lived up to his draft position, He’s on the brink of playing overseas or for a Big 3 roster.
July 10, 2014 – Jarrett Jack, Sergey Karasev and a TPE (traded player exemption) were acquired by the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Marcus Thornton, the draft rights to Edin Bavcic, and the draft rights to Ilkan Karaman. Marcus Thornton, Tyler Zeller, and a conditional 2016 1st round pick (CLE own) were then traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for a conditional 2015 2nd round pick (BOS own).
Yay – The Cavs were told to clear cap room for the opportunity to sign LeBron James after Gilbert’s meeting with James and his representatives in Miami. Griffin followed orders and pursued the sins of the previous offseason and unloaded Jack’s awful contract by giving up a future 1st, and a former first rounder in Zeller. The Cavs could have ignored the mandate to clear cap space without a commitment, but they went all-in, and it paid off.
July 22, 2014 – John Lucas, Erik Murphy, and Malcolm Thomas were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Carrick Felix, a 2015 second round pick (CLE own) and cash.
Boo – I’m not blaming Griffin for the Felix drafting since Grant was still at the helm during the 2013 NBA draft, but it just shows another high 2nd round pick (33rd) that was wasted. Due to confidentiality clauses, we’ll never know where Griffin was on the moves made during the Chris Grant years.
August 5, 2014 – Mike Miller and James Jones sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Griffin attempted to surround LeBron with versatile shooters he was familiar with. While James Jones never was a key member of the rotation, he’s been a calming influence in a turbulent locker room, and might be one of the few guys in the league who had the history with LeBron to stand up to him in the locker room.
Boo – Miller’s stellar stint with the Memphis Grizzlies from the year before didn’t carry over, and he CL more closely resembled Miami Mike Miller. I don’t credit or blame Griffin for either of these moves. These were clearly “get some LeBron guys in the locker room” moves.
August 23, 2014 – Kevin Love was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a conditional 2015 first round pick (MIA own).
Yay – Griffin followed LeBron’s letter, and delivered a third star to combine with James and Kyrie Irving that would make Cleveland the instant favorite in the East for the foreseeable future.
Boo – The Cavs 2013 draft has to go down as one of the all-time wastes of draft capital as they burned the 1st, 19th, and 33rd picks in a draft chalked with hidden stars on three guys who are all out of the league four years later. If you’re not sold on a guy, trade back. I don’t doubt that the 1st pick didn’t have much trade value that year, but you’d think they could have moved back, and even got the right to a pick swap down the line.
September 9, 2014 – Shawn Marion signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Boo – On paper it looked like a solid acquisition as the Cavs were hoping that Marion had one last title run in him. He didn’t. The Matrix was broken.
October 31st, 2014 – Anderson Varejao signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a third year team option for $10 million.
Boo – We’ll never be privy to the extent to which Griffin overplayed his hand in the negotiations with Rich Paul over Tristan Thompson’s extension in 2014. It was reported that Paul turned down a five-year, $50 million dollar contract. In the end Tristan picked up his qualifying offer and bet on himself just as his draftmates Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Enes Kanter did. Would Thompson’s camp have accepted $55 million? Even $60 million would have saved the Cavs an average of $4.4 million per season over the life of the deal.
After striking out with Thompson, Griffin gave beloved big man Anderson Varejao a contract extension on Halloween night of his own that proved to be a trick rather than a treat. The extension in and of itself wasn’t an exorbitant amount of money for a versatile backup big man. It was for one who had missed more games during the previous three seasons than games actually played during that time frame. Varejao’s extension was so bad that the Cavs ultimately traded their first round pick in 2017, just to shed the remained of his deal. Portland then stretched Varejao releasing him.
The ramifications of Andy’s contract were severe, and his re-signing was the worst move Griffin made as GM. Rather than ink former summer league invite turned playoff podium hostage Matthew Dellevedova to a sensible four-year, $18-$20 million extension in 2015, the Cavs had to deal with luxury tax castration in large part due to Andy’s extension. Ultimately, Delly left for an up and coming division rival for double the amount the Cavs probably could have retained his services for. I’m confident that Delly would have been able to handle some of the ball handling duties that LeBron complained about shouldering during the season. While it’s ridiculous to say that Delly could have evened the series with the Warriors, he would have played better than Deron Williams if for no other reason than he’d kill himself trying to guard Curry or Thompson. If the Cavs would have held on in Game 3, it’s a different series.
January 5, 2015 – Dion Waiters and a TPE were acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Lance Thomas, a conditional 2015 1st round pick (OKC own) and a TPE. Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and a 2015 conditional 1st round pick (OKC own) were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, Dion Waiters, and a 2019 2nd round pick (CLE own). The New York Knicks acquired multiple TPE exemptions in exchange for Iman Shumpert, and J.R. Smith.
Yay – This complex deal is widely celebrated as one of Griffin’s best transactions as it yielded a pair of rotation wings to surround the Cavs Big Three, and all the Cavs really gave up in the deal was struggling former 1st round pick Dion Waiters.
Boo – The best part of the deal thus far has been the throw in, J.R. Smith. He became a Cleveland shirtless icon after the 2016 NBA Finals, and The Ringer even made an 8-Bit video game in his honor. That being said, Smith could have been had for a mustache comb and a bottle of Phil Jackson’s favorite patchouli oil at the time. Shumpert has struggled greatly on the court and hasn’t lived up to his contract extension. In an ironic twist of fate, Dion Waiters has the most value of the three just two years later.
January 7, 2015 – Timofey Mozgov and a least favorable 2015 2nd round draft pick were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a conditional 2015 1st round pick (MEM own), and a conditional 2015 1st round pick (OKC own).
Yay – As far as Moz is concerned we’ll always have the Brew Garden commercials. Mozzilla did have a decent 2015 run as a Cavalier and was the Cavs second best player in the 2015 Finals after Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were lost to injury.
Boo – Mozzy wasn’t affective against the Warriors Death Squad though, and his playing time was greatly reduced the following season to the note that he played just 25 minutes in seven games against the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.
Griff blew through Chris Grant’s Sam’s Club bomb shelter supply of draft picks pretty quickly, and the Cavs have little to show for it today. Mozgov doesn’t fit in the modern NBA. Traditional centers are virtually untradable today, and Griff didn’t have the foresight to see that and gave up a pair of 1st round draft picks for a guy they basically got one season out of. Sad!
June 25, 2015 – The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Tyus Jones in Round 1 with Pick 24 in the 2015 NBA Draft. The draft rights to Jones were then acquired by the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Cavaliers in exchange for the draft rights to Cedi Osman (31st overall) , the draft rights to Rakeem Christmas (36th overall), and a 2019 2nd round pick (MIN own).
Yay – We’re all sweaty for the debut of Cedi. Cavs fans with hair fetishes will surely love his Head and Shoulders commercial. Two long years of waiting for our favorite Turkish draft and stash should come to an end in a few months, as long as the chicken wearing pants doesn’t trade him first.
Ben Werth compares Cedi to a Frankenstein monster of Matthew Dellevedova’s mentality inside of Sam Dekker’s body. Giddy up. It’s a good thing that jack russell terriers aren’t the size of a great dane because they would kill us all. Hopefully, that’s exactly what Cedi is.
Boo – Trading out of the first for less guaranteed money at the time was great with the stiff luxury tax bill coming every year, and we’re all excited for the debut of Cedi, but lawd did Griff waste some assets. Christmas was the 36th pick. Picks in that range are selling for $3.5 million today. If nothing else, he could have parlayed that into a pair of future second round picks, and the draft pick cupboard wouldn’t be as barren as it is today. Ultimately he never played for the Cavs past Summer League, and he was traded to the Pacers for a 2019 2nd round pick (LAL own). By then, the Lakers could actually be a playoff team.
July 9, 2015 – Kevin Love (five-year, $110 million) and Iman Shumpert (four-year, $40 million) sign multi-year contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Whew. The Love re-signing was huge. If he would have bolted, then the Wiggins trade would have been an absolute disaster. Perhaps it was the poolside Beverly Hills pow-wow with LeBron, or maybe it was Griff’s charm that ultimately convinced him to stay. Love provided the defensive play of his career in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, and his strong play continued all of last season as he was finally fully integrated into the Cavs offense. Naturally he’s in trade talks now, but if he doesn’t re-sign the asset is gone for nothing.
Boo – I cringe every time Shump touches the ball on offense the way I did watching Andy early in his career. Will he bounce it off his foot? Will he chuck it up? I’d say he’d throw a bad pass out of bounds, but we all know that Shump is a chucker at heart. If he was a lockdown defender it would be cool. He’s not. I don’t think the team needs to make the Paul George deal. They can compete with the Warriors if they rebuild around the Big Three. If they could turn Shump, and Cedi Osman for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that would work for me. Sure MKG can’t shoot, but he knows his role on offense, and he’s a better offensive player than Shump because of it. Plus, he can defend four positions, and could absolute matchup with the Warriors in the Finals.
July 10, 2015 – Mo Williams signs multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – It was nice to see Mo Williams come back. He begged not to be traded out of Cleveland after LeBron left, and he had the candor to brag that he brought Kyrie Irving to Cleveland. I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing the Godfather theme when he buried a three, and he had his moments during the regular season that reminded us of his first tour of Cleveland.
Boo – Williams was largely ineffective during the playoffs, and somehow he played ahead of Delly for the majority of the 2016 postseason. A few months after the title parade, things got bizarre. Williams picked up his option for the 2016 season, and he had knee surgery against the wishes of the Cavs medical staff, who said his knee would be fine.
Williams then decalared that he was retiring, but he never filed his paperwork. Ultimately he was included in the Korver deal to make the money work. Through the month of January he took a tour of the league as he was traded by the Hawks to the Nuggets. He was then cut by the Nuggets, and claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was then waived by the 76ers and reclaimed by the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets and 76ers game of hot potato was due to each teams desire to hit the salary cap floor.
August 5, 2015 – Richard Jefferson signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Of all of the aging championship chasing barnacles Griff has obtained the past few seasons, Jefferson has been the standout. He’s played meaningful minutes in The Finals the past two years, and he’s brought a calming influence to a sometimes volatile locker room. If you haven’t checked out his Road Trippin’ Podcast with Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, give it a listen on a child free road trip due to the profanity. The pod gives a unique look into the surprising boredom of NBA life on the road, our Cavs personalities away from the court, and the fact that uber babe Allie Clifton has never seen a movie.
October, 22 2015 – Tristan Thompson signed a five-year, $82 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – The Cavs retained their role players superstar for five more seasons. For all of the criticisms Thompson has received for his draft position, the Cavs don’t win the 2016 Finals without his domination of the boards, and his ability to switch onto Curry and give him fits.
Boo – Could Griff have saved $20 million in salary and the GDP of Djibouti in luxury taxes by inking Thompson to a $60 million extension the previous fall? Thompson wagered on himself, and Griff wagered against him in restricted free agency. Griff lost. Ultimately, Klutch got Tigger a deal no other team was willing to offer him.
January 12, 2016 – A conditional 2020 2nd round pick (POR own) and TPE were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers for Joe Harris, a conditional 2017 2nd round pick (SAC own) and cash.
Boo – Another wasted high 2nd round pick wasted.
February 18, 2016 – A 2020 2nd round pick (CLE own) and a TPE were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anderson Varejao and a conditional 1st round pick (CLE own).
Yay – This and the Frye deal is basically a three teamer, and the Cavs added a player who can contribute in exchange for one who can’t. Varejao ultimately signed with the Warriors after being waived by the Trail Blazers, and Andy’s awful play helped bring a title to Cleveland.
Congrats to my brother! @matthewdelly on his deal! Good luck in Milwaukee! Very deserving to you and your family. 1
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 1, 2016
Boo – Covered it earlier on in the article, but Griff had to give up what ended up being the 26th pick in this years draft after another deal with Portland, just to get rid of a contract he never should have given to Andy. Nate Smith clamored for Josh Hart as a versatile player who could inject energy into an aging Cleveland rotation. The Cavs could have had him, and retained Delly if Griffin never give a guy a contact extension just because he has fun hair.
February 18, 2016 – Channing Frye and a TPE were acquired by the Orlando Magic in exchange for Jared Cunningham, a 2020 2nd round pick, and a TPE.
Yay – Frye has been a solid contributor the past two regular seasons, and he’s won games for the Cavs during the Eastern Conference playoffs. From all reports, he’s a great locker room presence.
Boo – Frye is basically unplayable against the Warriors. Ultimately a general managers job is to predict the future and Griffin gave up three 1st round picks and a 2nd for a pair of players in Moz and Frye who are ineffective against the only team standing in front the Cavaliers from being a dynasty in their own right.
October 2, 2016 – J.R. Smith signed a four-year, $57 million contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – The summer of J.R. continued into the fall, as the Cavs retained the one-time untradebale player turned title team contributor. If LeBron is the Cavs heart, Smith is their soul. Smith has matured in Cleveland, and has become my favorite Cav by a country mile.
Boo – I don’t blame J.R. or Griff of the amount of his extension. Good for J.R. I do think that LeBron wields his own future tenure with the team to force the Cavs to pay his Klutch teammates more than the open market is willing to and it’s beyond a conflict of interest.
January 7, 2017 – Kyle Korver and multiple TPEs were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams, a conditional 2019 1st round pick (CLE own), and cash.
Yay – Korver was vicious during the regular season with the Cavs hitting a ridiculous 48.5% of his triples.
Boo – Korver struggled during the postseason, and he’s set to be a free agent in a few days. Hopefully the Cavs retain him, and didn’t surrender another 1st round pick for a rental.
February 9, 2017 – Derrick Williams signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Williams excelled as an energy guy off the bench and was a member of the Cavs Big Lineup that mauled the opposition during the regular season to the tune of a 35 Net Rating.
Boo – Good signing by Griff. Unfortunately Tyronn Lue didn’t play Williams outside of victory cigar time during the playoffs. Williams wouldn’t have made much of a difference against the Warriors, but I don’t doubt that he would have been more effective than Deron Williams was. Why not try the versatile Big Lineup against the Warriors Death Lineup during Game 2? If it doesn’t work, scrap it.
February 27, 2017 – Deron Williams signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Williams delivered during he Eastern Conference playoffs, and relieved LeBron of backup point guard duties during the later part of the regular season.
Boo – Williams was a no show in The Finals.
March 3, 2017 – Andrew Bogut signs a contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – I loved the signing at the time. I dream of Bogut high screens for Kyrie at the top of the key and the big Aussie leveling Kyrie’s man.
Boo – Bogut broke his leg 58 seconds into his Cavalier career. I don’t hold that against Griff obviously.
March 13, 2017 – Larry Sanders signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yay – Griff gambled on potential and a man saying that he was ready to get his life together.
Boo – Sanders reportedly missed a team bus in Florida and was waived from the team a little over a month after his signing. Not blaming Griffin on this one. He took a chance on wasted potential who would rather get wasted than save his career, and it costed the Cavs nothing.
April 9, 2017 – The Cleveland Cavaliers placed the contract of Deandre Liggins on waivers.
Boo – The Cavs cut a guy who actually could have matched up with the Warriors on D for a guy who averaged nearly a technical per minute played in the playoffs.
Looking back on Griff’s tenure, he was certainly the beneficiary of LeBron coming back, Kyrie taking the money, Dan Gilbert giving him an infinite budget, and the hoard of draft picks Chris Grant accumulated. Griff made some decent moves, but he wasted a ton of assets and surrounded LeBron, Kyrie and Love with numerous role players who are negative players against the Warriors. For that reason, I’m okay with the team moving on without him. Gilbert’s execution of Griff’s dismissal without an exit strategy deserves some of the backlash it’s received, and the Billups situation gets more embarrassing by the day.
In the end, I’ll remember Griff positively for helping end a 52-year championship drought in a land that never stopped believing it could happen someday, and Griff was in charge on that day. I’ll remember him as the perfect PR man for franchise that consistently seems to be in the news for the wrong reasons no matter their record. Most of all, I’ll remember him for his speech at the parade where he told the world of his letter of belief that the Cavs would defy history and comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
Rudy Gay for Shump and Frey, thoughts?
Can’t do a sign and trade involving a player. No go.
Thanks Nate.
Wonder if bogut could be had on a one year make good deal.
I’d say yes. But I wonder if he’s just done with it all after his latest injury.
Doubtful given what I just read.
Well don’t keep us hanging. What did you just read?
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19767198/andrew-bogut-become-free-agent-close-being-cleared-full-basketball-activities
I believe that if a trade for PG13 was going to happen it should had happened already, or am I wrong?
Now that the Rockets have aquired CP3 they may snatched PG13 too.
To me it seems the Cavs roster would stay the same which is not that bad.
I think there is still a chance we get him, but it was never likely anyways. And yeah same roster next year would be totally fine.
We will probably end up with the same result as this year but well until someones can mount a big 4 with similar skills to the GS big 4 the whole league will end up the same result.
I would be amazed if the Warriors don’t win 75 games next season, if they stay healthy.
I will screenshot this and I’ll save it for later.
Actually I think now that the draft is over, Indy is over playing their hand a bit and trying to work everyone for the best offer they can get but everyone’s just kind of shrugging their shoulders because he’s going to walk at the end of the season.
I believe the Celtics will get him. I believe the Celtics will sign Hayward first and then use their picks to trade for PG13.
Gilbert looking like a total douche now 10 days into the Cavs Held Hostage with no GM. His unwillingness to address the media is pathetic too. As others have said, his personal GM adventure was pushing to acquire Kay Felder and that sure worked out fine. Stick to loans, Dan.
You think the 60th pick of the draft should be better than Kay Felder?
Always
Really? Most 60th picks suck.
Five. Foot. Eight.
Yeah, I’m saying the outcome of that pick is usually someone who is even worse than Felder. But I’m with you on getting someone more NBA body type. Of course most of those guys are gone by the 60th pick which is why the outcome of that pick is someone who is even worse than Felder….
The 60th pick in the NBA draft is essentially the last pick in the NFL draft. Outside of a miracle, you just aren’t getting anything.
Funny that some people here are just absolutely losing it because Gilbert didn’t re-sign Griffin. What exactly would we be doing differently had Billups signed 3 days ago? You guys really need to relax and have some respect for the best owner Cleveland has had in a long, long time. The guy is spending a ridiculous amount of money in luxury tax to bring Cleveland a title or titles. No other owner has every done that for us.
“Stick to loans, Dan.” Yeah, because he didn’t deliver us a championship. Get real.
Yes Golbert’s has been willing to spend money but he is a rotten quasi-GM. And he should indeed stick to loans which is the business suited to his talent. IMO Billups won’t be better than Griffin. Maybe Griffin should have held the Billups’ meetings in the Oval Office or just tweeted in comic sans that Chauncey needs to make up his mind already. That works so well for The Donald
Maybe “Gilbert” should have held the Billups’ meetings…….can’t type today.
I’m not thinking Melo isn’t getting bought out this year. But Wade probably will.
I’d agree with you. Doubt Melo is getting moved now that Phil got the boot.
Assuming the Knicks buy out Melo and we sign him (that would be HUGE), and then move Love for PG13 (yes I know, three star SFs is weird), we could run the ultimate small ball lineup:
Kyrie-JR (Korver)-PG13-Melo-LeBron
TT, Korver (JR), Derrick, Shump and Osman off the bench
We would sure score a lot of points, although defensively we might be very weird.
Just having some fun here.
Ideally Melo would be fine coming off the bench so that TT could start at the 5, but hey
Ideally we’d move Shump. But I still consider this unlikely since we would basically be wanting an upgraded version of him. Who’s going to trade for a lesser version of what they already have?
Gordon, if we did that we’d win the title.
Rondo, Korver kj mcdaniels, move shump for anything, bring in Cedi, add Jordan Adams and Erick green add Anthony Tolliver more likely
Cedi, Jordan Adams and Erick Green don’t move the needle one bit in Euroleague. What do you expect from them in Lebron team? Derrick Williams would be Euroleague MVP hands down and he doesn’t see the floor.
LAC reportedly not interested in moving Beverley. At least not for whatever crap we could offer them. I was really hoping we might be able to snag him.
Ya, this is kind of what I figured. Unfortunately.
2.5 days to free agency and still no GM. WTAF.
Ridiculous.
It’s not like teams are calling and the phone is just ringing in an empty office. People are still working on deals. But yeah, it’d be nice to get Billups in there.
What do we have to sign FAs? MLE? Vet min? I wonder if we’re in no hurry to get a GM in there because we are waiting to see if Melo is bought out (and then use the MLE to sign him). Hopefully don’t sound dumb with the MLE thing..
Yeah, we don’t have much to offer. The Cavs built a great roster, unfortunately there isn’t a lot of stuff lying around we could use as trade chips.
I’m not too hyped on our bench, though. It would be nice to swap Shump, Korver and Frye for a few younger, athletic 3 and D guys.
Except younger athletic 3 and D guys who are available don’t necessarily exist or are so valuable that we could never sign them. Korver and Frye are good players and we should keep them. We might just have to hope that Shump gets better. He’s still young and athletic and definitely fits the 3 and D mold, just needs to be smarter on both ends.
Melo isn’t getting bought out now that Jackson is gone.
The most interesting Chauncey Billups take I heard was from Windy on the Lowe’s podcast. Windy knows Chauncey really well from their work at ESPN, and he said the biggest struggle for Billups was leaving his family again. He has kids, and wants to be close to them after having to travel so much during his career as a player. He grew up in Denver, and now has a great life back there raising his kids with his wider family. If that is all true, and if the report yesterday that Billups actually made a “counter-offer” to Gilbert is true,… Read more »
My guess is a promote from within if he isn’t taking the job. Though, I’m pretty sure everyone is just assuming he is, indeed, taking it. Though if we could get this over with sooner rather than later that’d likely be a good thing.
Yeah. I guess you are right. That is what DG did with Grant.
Interesting article. Changed my perspective. Thanks, Cory.
That’s a pretty good looking swing.
That’s a pretty good looking swing.
Great data, great article. Puts Griff in proper perspective as a GM I think. As a human being though, I really liked Griff. Super interesting to listen to.
Agree with TheOtherJason!
I think these both points can be true. (1.) Dan Gilbert is a successful business man, a crazy inept NBA owner whose saving grace is his ability to spend $ on players, and would be nothing without LeBron (2.) David Griffin was a solid GM, who also benefited from LeBron, but struggled to find younger talent, and often overpaid in trades.
Fair I think to both if you look at Gilbert’s hiring record. However, overpaying on trades could have been argued to help put us over the top against the warriors in 2016. JR played a big role and shumpert helped as well last year. Younger talent was a problem, but I am not convinced it was all Griffin.
Yeah, when you’re a contender with LeBron no one wants to help you. So I understand some of the urgency and overpaying of assets.
I don’t think this is about what Griffin did wrong, and more about Dan Gilbert not valuing his front office. Either Dan Gilbert will get humbled once again, or his gamble will pay off.
If I had a billion dollars I would get a shirt with a properly fitted collar
????????
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDcsSWkWAAExx6t?format=jpg
This piece took a ton of research. Thanks much, Corey.
Vanna gave me an extra “e.” Cory
BTW nice job on the article Cory. Puts the situation in fair perspective.
I get that Gilbert should have had a better transition away from Griffin, and that whole scenario is embarrassing. The White House thing is kind of funny. The Gilbert hate is ridiculous though. There’s no parade without him spending to historic proportions. He’s still the best owner Cleveland has had since Dick Jacobs.
Do you think that a majority of other owners would do the same thing (spend that kind of $) if LeBron had signed with their team?
Nope.
Yep, many would have
Which owners wouldn’t?
The half that could not afford it.
Yes, many would have.
The Cavs should try and snag PJ Tucker with the MLE.
He’s making more than that.
I think we can pay him $5 million, correct? I agree he could make more, especially on a multi-year deal, but if he wants to contend, it might be the best option for just next year.
Liggins will be perfect for the Rockets. No one but Paul or Hardin will ever touch the ball, a D first guy is a big plus. Maybe we can get them to take Shump too.
He’s probably not making that team.
Liggins was just a trade to get them over the cap before the first so they’d have the MLE
He’ll be released.
The Mavs traded Liggins to the Rockets.
WOULD PURSUE MCLEMORE —-BELIEVE IN RIGHT ENVIRONMENT ( CAVS ) HIS GAME WILL FLOURISH
I don’t see it. He’s not proven anything as a scorer, other than short streaks, and he has been a disaster defensively his entire NBA career. Take a flyer on him, maybe, but I’d expect nothing from him.
There’s a ton of guys who were stuck on dysfunctional teams and flourished elsewhere. For sure he’s worth a shot.
The rapper dude?
Rather have kj mcdaniels
If you want to play the could-of-should of game. We could of drafted a lineup of Kyrie Irving, Wiggins, Kahwi Leonard, Greek Freak and Drummond.
Thanks for this, Cory, lotta work in this article. I understand the Tyus Jones trade, but I really hated it at the time ans still do. I think he will be a quality backup PG. probably already is.
Thanks man. I would have been fine with Jones. The draft and stash of Cedi was smart too. Let him develop on someone else’s dime, and bring him over once he’s ready.
Well balanced summary. Good work.
https://twitter.com/JulieDiCaro/status/880144773729980418
No doubt.
This was an incredibly balanced article. Well done.
I’ll never understand why they extended Varejao. It was a horrible mistake. I’d love to hear his reasoning on that one day.
Every contract to Andy V has been a horrible mistake.
That is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen written on this blog. The guy averaged something like 15 and 15 one year until he got hurt. After that, yeah, he was never the same and likely shouldn’t have been around. Before that, he was on cheap contracts with very minimal cap hits.
He averaged 14 and 14 for maybe 25 games during the 2012-13 season. Andy did well for himself. He made $72 million. His rookie scale brings his average down.
He made backup type money for most of his career and that is exactly what he was for most of his years. A solid backup center that was a great per minute rebounder, a good positional defender, a decent roller for LBJ for a guy making that money, and eventually a decent midrange shooter. His third contract and extension was likely a mistake. I think that was signed after his repeated injury issues.
He signed two big contracts (one after a holdout) and was injured for basically the entire two contracts.
The second contract of his career was a 2 year 11.5 million dollar match for 5.75 mil a year by the cavs on an offer from Charlotte. Very reasonable. The third contract was the 6 year 42 million. This was after two healthy seasons where Varejao was a key contributor off the bench for a team that had championship aspirations and flamed out the next season against the Boston and Orlando teams they should have beat. A reasonable contract at the time considering he was one of our most productive bench players. Maybe the only productive bench player on those… Read more »
There is absolutely no evidence that this is true: “. I do think that LeBron wields his own future tenure with the team to force the Cavs to pay his Klutch teammates more than the open market is willing to and it’s beyond a conflict of interest.” JR Smith is getting paid $13M, that’s about right for a starting SG on a championship level team. You’d feel better if he was getting what? $12M? I don’t get this thinking that JR and TT are overpaid by more than 1 or 2M each and that’s assuming they are actually overpaid. If… Read more »
I agree with this. Any leverage that JR and TT had was due to the facts of the situation: (1) JR and TT (and Shump) were part of a team that came super close to winning a championship and (2) Cleveland had no ability to sign a viable alternative because they were already over the cap.
Maybe LeBron let it known that he wanted those guys to be re-signed, but not in any way different than any other star player would in that situation.
Yep. And even if you think they are overpaid (they aren’t), we are talking at most 1 or 2M, not worth having bad blood develop over that.
Isn’t it true that no other team was interested in either?
Because the figured the Cavs would sign them? Then yes, but if the Cavs had wavered, then no.
Waiting for a month or two into the season is the definition of wavering.
When did they wait for a month or two into the season?
Do you think no other team in the NBA called either player’s agent?
If Klutch doesn’t represent Smith or Thompson do they see those deals? I don’t think so.
I bet they do. And once again, even if it was true, what are they overpaid by exacyly?
Lol. Your argument is that “Cory is wrong. Well not really, he’s right, but the Cavs should pay the klutch surcharge and not complain. It would make too many waves to play hardball.”
Dan Gilbert is doing everything possible to make me hate him.
Hahahaha.
Honestly, I’m losing it with Gilbert.
+1. He’s always been kind of a douche, but that’s no different than pretty much every NBA owner.
Billionaires are a different breed.
Apparently Dan Gilbert is at the White House today with the Chicago. Huh?
The Chicago Cubs…
Who cares?
I do.
Me too. I have no problem with someone being a Republican. But Trump a monster, not a Republican.
Well regardless of politics, it’s a bad look posing with the Cubs, who beat the Indians in the World Series, while you don’t have a GM.
+1
Republicans are monsters though. At least the current version running the government.
No doubt
What a d bag.
Dan Gilbert rehire Mike Brown. He apologised to LeBron. Isn’t it time @cavsdan picked up the phone and called Griff?
Nah. Wait and see if someone else wants to come in. We kept a bunch of Griff’s staff around if we want Griff again just promote from within.
Lebron still hates his guts. And Gilbert’s recent trips to DC probably don’t help.
LORD, that 2013 NBA had such good players. What a nightmare!
nba draft
The first pick in 2013 didn’t have the value of the 2017 pick that Danny Ainge dealt, but you’d think that someone would have traded a top seven pick and a future asset, even if it were just a pick swap. They really missed on the mid-round first rounders that they had, and completely struck out in the second round.
“The extension in and of itself wasn’t an obsorbenant amount of money”
That’s a few letters away from a real word.
I appreciate you catching that Scott. Thanks.
It means something so exorbitant it becomes absorbent.