Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin now has what former head coach David Blatt never did: authentic public support from franchise cornerstone LeBron James.
Per ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, the GM, a key architect of the reigning champion Cavaliers, has been operating this year on an expiring contract, without an extension on the horizon. James wants that to change:
“It makes no sense why he shouldn’t get an extension,” James recently told ESPN. “He’s pulled every move — he’s tried to make every move happen — to better this team to be able to compete for a championship. So we wouldn’t be in this position, obviously, without him and without the guys that are here — from the coaching staff to the players to Griff. He’s been a big piece of it.”
Never mind the Cavaliers’ championship, or this support from LeBron. Griffin has, at minimum, done just enough outside the title conversation to deserve another deal.
LeBron himself cited some of the trades Griffin has made, starting with the Timofey Mozgov one. In hindsight, that was a questionable move; it cost the Cavaliers a first-rounder, and while Mozgov seemed valuable at the time, he was basically a non-contributor to their 2016 championship.
Still, this is the most questionable of Griffin’s decisions, which is freaking spectacular. He has taken a team with very few expendable assets and cap space and added veterans with gas left in the tank. The Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith acquisitions remain great. He picked up Channing Frye, the Kyle Korver of centers, for nothing. He turned a low-end first and Mike Dunleavy Jr. into the actual Kyle Korver. He was smart enough to wait out this year’s buyout market to pick up Deron Williams (and Andrew Bogut, who is no longer with the team after breaking his leg). The latter ploy is arguably his most impressive. Williams isn’t setting the the world on fire, but he’s a marked upgrade over anyone the Cavaliers could have signed (or traded for) when James himself was complaining about their lack of backup playmaking.
To show that kind of backbone when you have the heart and soul of your franchise essentially issuing marching orders isn’t easy. But Griffin stood strong and the Cavaliers, in the long run, should be better off for it.
He deserves a long-term deal. It’s that simple.
And failing the unimaginable, he will get one.
