Griffin’s departure leaves Cavs rudderless heading into draft
CLEVELAND — Nothing ever seems good enough for Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
Not a championship. Not three straight appearances in the NBA Finals. Not a rapt fan base. Not being forgiven by LeBron James.
Gilbert is demanding. A fearless, risk-taking, casinoowning gambler.
Those attributes have made him a billionaire businessman, a tough boss to please — and the reason the Cavaliers are currently in a state of chaos.
Following a loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals and facing a pivotal offseason for his franchise, Gilbert on Monday decided to part ways with general manager David Griffin, the architect of the most successful run in franchise history.
Gilbert, who has gone through four GMs in 12 years in Cleveland, made the risky move as the Cavs are trying to revamp their roster while James’ free-agency clock is ticking down toward July 2018, when his contract expires.
There’s confusion in Cleveland. What else is new?
This is a team that has flourished amid disorder, and the Cavaliers are in disarray again, days after having their title snatched by Kevin Durant and the Warriors.
Just last week, Gilbert said he was happy with the direction of the team and didn’t envision sweeping changes. But he and Griffin’s vision didn’t align and they mutually agreed to separate.
“We are now at a point where the fit is not right for us to continue with one another,” Griffin said in a statement that sounded like something he might say about a player being released.
The timing of Griffin’s exit couldn’t be worse.
The Cavs are preparing for Thursday’s draft without any picks and they are reportedly exploring trades to land either Paul George or Jimmy Butler in an attempt to add another All-Star and close the gap on Golden State.
And they might need to placate James, who praised Griffin while seeming to take a swipe at Gilbert late on Monday on Twitter. After mending their relationship following a messy split in 2010, James and Gilbert might have more work to do.
“If no one appreciated you Griff, I did. And hopefully all the people of Cleveland!” James posted. “Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1 (trophy).”
On Tuesday, Gilbert met with former All-Star guard Chauncey Billups about a job in Cleveland’s front office, a source familiar with the talks told Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Billups, who has known Gilbert for years, has no executive experience, so it’s unlikely he would replace Griffin. It’s more likely he would serve as an operations president and serve alongside a new GM.
Griffin’s impact on the Cavaliers can’t be understated. While he had the luxury of having James and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving on the roster to build around and Gilbert’s deep pockets, he pulled off the blockbuster trade for Kevin Love, fired coach David Blatt and replaced him with Tyronn Lue.
He also plugged holes with veterans such as Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Kyle Korver.
Griffin also nurtured a championship culture and helped deliver Cleveland its first title since 1964.
James may have carried the Cavaliers, but Griffin built them.
There were growing signs in recent months that Griffin’s run as GM would end after three seasons. First off, Gilbert has never signed any of his previous GMs to an extension, electing to move on to the next person in his chain of command once their contracts expired.
Unlike Lue, Griffin did not receive a contract extension last summer as Cleveland basked in the glow of its championship.
Griffin was also among the lowest paid top executives in the league.