What in the actual frickity frick are the Cleveland Cavaliers thinking?
Parting ways with general manager David Griffin is a risk. Even if he wasn’t directly responsible for LeBron James’ arrival and the Kevin Love trade, he helped build a championship-level supporting cast around them and Kyrie Irving. Owner Dan Gilbert has never valued front-office executives, but staging such a shakeup with LeBron one year out from free agency feels unnecessary—unless, of course, you consulted the four-time MVP about your decision.
Which, obviously, the Cavaliers didn’t, according to ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst.
And then LeBron tweeted this:
If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland! Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1?
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 20, 2017
And then Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck relayed all of this:
Source: LeBron is "disappointed" at Griffin's departure, as well as the timing, & "concerned" abt what this portends for Cavs going forward.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) June 20, 2017
Worth noting: LeBron and Griffin had a solid working relationship. James appreciated that Griffin made the moves necessary to win. https://t.co/KEHPqvyXxa
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) June 20, 2017
Talk about your terrible, no-good, very bad decisions.
The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski says Gilbert has tapped Chauncey Billups as his favorite to replace Griffin, but it doesn’t matter. Even if the Cavaliers get Butler and/or George, it won’t matter. They will be working from a position of weakness in trying to keep James, who can be a free agent next year, at which time he will seriously consider leaving, according to Wojnarowski (h/t NBC Sports).
You can’t run your organization much worse than this. The New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings can give the Cavaliers a run for their money, but few other teams appear this incompetent.
Who knows, maybe it all works out. Given how this all went down, though, it feels more likely Griffin’s departure will be the first of many—including LeBron’s own exit.
