Dan Gilbert willing to give David Griffin “substantial” deal, title

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is planning on giving general David Griffin a “substantial” deal and a title.

According to NBA insider Sam Amico of Fox Sports and AmicoHoops, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert plans to keep David Griffin in town and will do so with a “substantial” deal and title.

However, last week it was reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski that there were members inside the organization that believed Griffin was willing to leave Cleveland to pursue his options with other franchises, and that Gilbert was unwilling to pay.

"There’s been a consistent belief inside and outside the Cavaliers’ organization that Griffin will aggressively pursue the Magic’s president job because of Cleveland’s unwillingness to offer him a market-level contract."

Those members, one of whom was probably none other than LeBron James, should be able to relax after hearing this news.

On another note, the idea that the Cavs would have to pay Griffin more was obvious but it’s interesting that Griffin could get what could be a promotion in titles. While it seems like different organizations have different hierarchies, perhaps one role that Griffin title that Griffin could acquire is a Director of Strategic Planning role.

He’d technically be under Senior Director of Strategic Planning Brockman Aller, who’s been with the Cavs since the 2004-2005 season, and still be handling his typical managerial duties. Sill, he’d be part of what he called the “nerd cave” in 2015, a group with Aller, Jon Nichols and Anthony Leotti.

Per cleveland.com‘s Terry Pluto:

"The Cavs have three guys who “are the nerd cave,” according to Griffin. He credits them for some of the shrewd financial moves made by the franchise. Their names are Brockman Aller, Jon Nichols and Tony Leotti. Their job is to come up with ideas to make the NBA salary cap work as the Cavs look to deal for other players.They are backed by Gilbert, who will relentlessly write the checks needed to fuel the roster upgrades."

Potentially holding three titles (General Manager, Vice President of Basketball Operations and Director of Strategic Planning), and getting a pay raise, could be enough to appease Griffin.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need to get this done because it’s unlikely that they’ll get a better front office executive for the job. Griffin has already proven his worth, as every player in the Cavs rotation has been acquired by Griffin via trade or they signed (or re-signed) in free agency.

Even for “LeBron is GM” crowd has to give Griffin credit for acquiring Kyle Korver and Channing Frye, both surprising acquisitions that allow the Cavs to be so deadly on offense.

Though he was eventually traded, Timofey Mozgov was another surprise acquisition for the fact that it was unclear how the Cavs would get the two first-round picks they would need to pry Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets.

Must Read: The startling cost of Cleveland's major trade acquisitions

Griffin has made shrewd and ingenious moves that have allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to keep pace with the Golden State Warriors.

Unless you look at Tristan Thompson as a Dennis Rodman-like player, you don’t see the Cavs as having a Big 4 like the Warriors have with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

Still, the Cleveland Cavaliers currently have a rotation with a bench that’s started a combined 1,826 games. That’s what’s particularly impressive about the “other guys” on Cleveland’s roster.

When it comes down to it, the Cavs have at least as much firepower as the Warriors. With the Cavs bench shooting lights out from three-point range and the Warriors bench featuring Shaun Livingston, David West and Javale McGee, players who aren’t three-point threats, the Cavs likely have more firepower than the Warriors.

How many general managers could put the Cavs in that position? He deserves to be paid whatever he can demand in the open market. Another title wouldn’t hurt either.

Not while the Cavs are in a great position to win their second NBA title, anyways.

Related Story: David Griffin's situation with ownership

What do you think about David Griffin’s contract situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.