It’s. About. Damn. Time.
Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin is slated for free agency over the summer, with his contract expiring this July. The absence of a new deal has felt ominous—especially as teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic, with front-office openings, sought to interview him for certain positions.
According to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst, though, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has denied those overtures and is, finally, talking to his incumbent GM about a new deal:
The Magic interviewed several candidates for their president of basketball operations, including Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond. The team was interested in hiring Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin for the position, but even though Griffin had discussions about the job, he never was able to formally interview because the Cavs did not grant permission, and the Magic decided to move on.
The Cavs also denied permission to the Atlanta Hawks for Griffin to interview for their open general manager position, sources said. Griffin, whose contract expires at the end of July, has recently held talks with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert about his future with the team, but nothing had been agreed to as of Monday afternoon, sources said.
At this point, a deal is more likely than not going to get done. If Griffin’s future was in real doubt, Gilbert would at least owe him the professional courtesy of interviewing for other positions. The timing isn’t ideal, with the Cavaliers playing the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and trying to win their second-ever championship, but allowing incumbent executives to interview for roles that carry more power, cachet and/or money is common practice.
Again: If the Cavaliers are ready to pony up to keep Griffin, this is a non-issue. And that’s exactly what they should do. Team executives don’t count toward the salary cap. Pay him whatever (within reason, obviously). He deserves it. He has scoped out trades and free agents that made the Cavaliers markedly better over these last two or three years, all the while having very little assets or financial flexibility with which to work.
The absence of a new deal for him is no longer weird or settling. It’s just plain dumb.
