David Griffin’s Situation With Ownership Is “Not Good”
The situation between Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin and ownership is “not great”. All this, while the Orlando Magic have him as a candidate to be their President of Basketball Operations.
The Orlando Magic are on the search for a new President of Basketball Operations and Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin is one of their candidates, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Meanwhile, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops, a “dialed-in” source has described the situation between Griffin and the Cavaliers ownership as “not great”.
That’s, well, not great.
In an article where Amico also mentioned James walking out of practice wondering aloud why Griffin “wouldn’t be able to get a new contract” and Griffin’s inability to secure an extension with ownership last summer, one can begin to see the writing on the wall.
Griffin has done a terrific job as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, making savvy cap moves that allowed the team to bring in a number of valuable veteran, pushing the buttons of the Cavs players while trying to inspire them to be great.
After James questioned the Cleveland Cavaliers complacency as an organization, Griffin had this to say (from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin):
"“Organizationally, there is absolutely no lack of clarity on what our goal set is. We are here to win championships, and there is no other solution, there is no other outcome that is acceptable, and there never has been. But in terms of the on-the-court complacency, I’ve seen a lot of that.”"
He’s great, He’s great for the players, he’s great for Tyronn Lue, he’s great for the organization and thus, he’s great for Cleveland, for basketball.
The fact that the Orlando Magic are widely expected to pursue Griffin as their top candidate to be the new President of Basketball Operations would only encourage Griffin to maximize the amount of money he could get by signing with the Magic.
With one of the highest team payrolls in the NBA, as $125.9 million will be doled out to the 19 players that were on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster in 2016-2017 (and Shawn Marion) according to Spotrac, Griffin may be unwilling to open up his wallet and pay Griffin. Which is ironic, considering how much Griffin had to hope Griffin would open up his wallet for the players.
Considering that the Cavs’ ownership seems to be feeling a bit frugal, Griffin can get more money and power elsewhere. With so many people saying that it’s James who runs the team he probably respect would get more respect as well.
Why wouldn’t Griffin leave? The team’s success?
They don’t have many assets yet the pressure to keep succeeding will make Griffin’s job even harder.
From the News-Herald‘s Jeff Schudel:
"“We can absolutely increase payroll if it’s the right piece at the right time,” Griffin said. “I’ve never once been given a mandate of any kind relative to money. It’s something we take on ourselves because we’re running such an enormous (luxury) tax number ($27 million).”"
While James seems to be in his prime now, how long will it last? It’s great to see but the age of the basketball world’s best player begs the question.
I wrote about why Griffin could leave earlier this week, you can read the article here.
It’s too plausible a situation to ignore, even if a fan’s brain can be geared towards blind optimism (or pessimism, depending on your favorite team).
It’s worth noting that in February, owner Dan Gilbert removed Jeff Cohen from his vice chairman position and Nathan Forbes, his other vice chairman, has lost influence within the ownership group, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.
This decision is basically Gilbert’s and Gilbert’s alone.
It’s also worth noting that the Orlando Magic, who aren’t expected to interview Griffin until the end of the Cavs’ postseason run, are starting their interviews with other candidates, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
This is likely an effort to get the other interview done and see if anyone catches their eye before Griffin gets a chance to interview,
An interview which would likely be incredibly impressive, knowing Griffin.
Related Story: Who can replace David Griffin if he leaves
What do you think of the situation between David Griffin and ownership? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.