Odds & Ends: Griffin, Smart, Moultrie
Cavs interim GM David Griffin is looking to establish a positive culture in Cleveland, something his predecessor, Chris Grant, was unable to do despite his best efforts, writes Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Word is that Griffin gave the club a stern message to his underachieving team and when asked about that pep talk during his introductory presser, the exec said, “I wouldn’t want to share what I told them.” More from around the Association..
- When asked if the Cavs will be buyers or sellers at the deadline, Griffin said, “I don’t see how you get better and win more games selling…We are dedicated to getting better,” according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal (on Twitter).
- Will Marcus Smart‘s draft stock take a hit after his incident with a fan last night? Opinions were split amongst execs that Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports spoke with.
- Meanwhile, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter) got no indication from executives that Smart’s stock will take a hit and heard mostly positive things about the Oklahoma State star’s character.
- The 76ers announced that they recalled forward Arnett Moultrie from the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. The move was made in advance of tonight’s contest against the Clippers, meaning that Moultrie was able to suit up in L.A. The forward was assigned to the Sevens on February 4 and appeared in three D-League games.
- D-League guard Tiny Gallon turned down an opportunity in China to continue his pursuit of an NBA contract, writes Shams Charania of RealGM. The 76ers have maintained dialogue with the 23-year-old throughout the season.
Cavs Notes: Gilbert, GM Candidates, Coaching
Dan Gilbert’s basketball people have failed him, which left him no choice but to step in, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. The players aren’t responding to coaching, nor giving maximum effort, which is on them. But at some point, something will have to be done to change the culture, and that could result in the firing of coach Mike Brown, writes Amico. The main issue is that Brown hasn’t gotten them to play his style of defense, which was one of the primary reasons for the hire. The team is currently ranked 25th in points allowed. Amico also writes that the Cavs immediately went from going through the motions to going on a 33-game audition after GM Chris Grant was let go. This goes for all the players, as well as interim GM David Griffin.
More on the Cavs:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald & The Morning Journal runs down some possible candidates to fill the Cavs GM spot if Griffin doesn’t keep the job. Finnan also traces much of what has gone wrong in Cleveland to their recent drafts. Out of their most recent players selected, only Kyrie Irving has achieved the production level expected from such a high draft pick. Tristan Thompson (No. 4 overall pick in 2011) and Dion Waiters (No. 4 overall in 2012) have been starters, at least occasionally in the case of Waiters, and Anthony Bennett (No. 1 overall in 2013) has struggled mightily.
- Also weighing in on some possible GM candidates is Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com.
- In her weekly Q&A roundup, Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at a number of issues facing the team. She believes that Mike Brown won’t be fired before the end of the season as coach. She also believes that Dan Gilbert’s playoff-or-bust edict placed undue pressure on Brown and the team. Also unlikely, according to Schmitt Boyer, is an acquisition of Greg Monroe, or the hiring of Akron coach Keith Dambrot as a replacement for Brown.
Eastern Notes: World Peace, Sixers, Bobcats
Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a strong rookie campaign, but the Bucks sit at 9-40 and hold the worst record in the NBA. Tony Kalkavouras of Sheridan Hoops sat down with Antetokounmpo and the young forward admitted he was tired of losing, though he’s trying to remain optimistic. It’s been a tough season for Milwaukee, but a high draft pick this summer paired with some young talent already present on the roster could help turn the team’s fortunes around down the road. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Metta World Peace has discredited any reports suggesting he wants to be traded (Twitter link). We heard yesterday that World Peace is allegedly frustrated with his role in the Knicks rotation, but apparently it’s nothing serious.
- Marc Zumoff of CSNPhilly.com opines that Brett Brown‘s desire to helm a strong defensive team will affect the way that the Sixers approach free agency and the draft in the future. Brown became Philadelphia’s head coach last August.
- Steve Clifford of the Bobcats is another first year coach helping change the perception of his team. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com profiles Clifford and observes that despite a very similar roster to last year’s squad, Charlotte has been able to redefine themselves and become a potential playoff unit.
- The Cavaliers’ decision to fire GM Chris Grant might have been too harsh, suggests Bud Shaw of the Plain Dealer. Shaw thinks Grant made some impressive moves during his time in Cleveland and that his presence will be missed around the trade deadline.
Odds & Ends: Bradley, Dumars, D-League
The Celtics have seen Avery Bradley make a leap in production this year, and the third-year guard tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders he’s focusing on his play while his restricted agency looms over this summer: “Just like any other process, you try not to worry about it–it’s just like the trade deadline and all that stuff. You just don’t worry about it. You can only control your play and your attitude, and that’s all I am focused on.” Here are more notes from around the league:
- Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders says it’s time for teams to part ways with Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, Pau Gasol, Kyle Lowry, and Omer Asik. Hamilton argues that the time for bluffing and driving up values has passed, and that it is always better to be compensated by pre-empting the inevitable loss of players likely to move on in the coming offseason.
- Sasha Pavlovic has agreed to play in Serbia with the Partizan Belgrade team, per Novosti.rs (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 10-year NBA veteran was released by the Blazers this offseason and failed to land with another team after scoring 2.6 points on .353 shooting and 13.5 minutes per game last year.
- Joe Dumars is still running the Pistons front office, but is a rumored candidate for the GM opening with the Cavs, per a tweet from HoopsHype. Dumars is in the last year of his contract, and is reportedly under pressure after splurging this offseason to construct an atypical, playoff-hopeful roster that hasn’t stopped Detroit’s losing woes to this point.
- Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report says that, despite the trend to rely on drafting and under the CBA’s tax structure, the Lakers‘ strongest advantage and best strategy as an organization lies in their ability to draw free agents to Los Angeles. Ding contrasts the gambles and limitations small market teams like the Cavs and Thunder have to take to secure and keep talent like Andrew Bynum and James Harden with the ability the Lakers have to sign stars and afford luxury tax payments. Ding says the Lakers should be optimistic they can bounce back faster than teams in major rebuilding modes, keeping up their championship history.
- Howard Beck and Reese Waters of Bleacher Report discussed the Bucks‘ options heading into the trade deadline with a disappointing league-worst record. Beck thinks the only untouchable player in Milwaukee should be rookie forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders sees a lot of parallels in the Magic‘s current rebuilding process with the successful rebuild that brought the Thunder to the top of the Western Conference. Orlando isn’t winning many games this year, but their roster is filled with promising young players, and another high pick likely awaits them in the upcoming 2014 draft. The Thunder perfected the art of bottoming out while acquiring and developing assets, and the Magic hope to duplicate their success.
- Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside provides a nice rundown of the pro prospects that will be featured in the D-League All-Star festivities. Schmidt looks at young players looking to get their first real shot at the NBA like Pierre Jackson and Justin Hamilton, players who have spent some time with NBA teams this year like Hilton Armstrong, Seth Curry, Dewayne Dedmon, Manny Harris, and Malcolm Thomas (currently on the Jazz roster), along with players looking to revive their NBA careers like DeAndre Liggins, Chris Wright, and Kevin Jones.
LeBron Notes: Outlook In Miami, Cleveland, L.A.
The unprecedented build up and meltdown surrounding LeBron James‘ decision to sign with the Heat four summers ago dwarfs the current speculation on the four-time MVP’s next venture into free agency, which is likely to occur if James opts out of his contract for next year and maximizes his earnings. James admitted in to Sean Highkin of USA Today that the team’s struggles in his first year after joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh caused him to question his unpopular decision at the time, “We weren’t playing good basketball, we were out of sync, and me and D-Wade were looking at each other like, ‘Did we make the right choice, man?'” Three finals appearances and two championships later, James is now easily at peace with the choice. Here are some more rumors on James’ future:
- Bill Reiter of FOX Sports writes that the dysfunction surrounding the Cavs this year is due in large part to the ongoing void and desperation that remain from LeBron’s departure. Reiter says that the tantalizing possibility of a James homecoming next season played a significant part in the re-hiring of coach Mike Brown and the top overall draft selection of Anthony Bennett this year. The Cavs’ playoffs-or-bust goals for the season were an attempt to impress James and lure him back to a winning franchise, but basing the team’s identity around that hypothetical has led to the reports of locker room disarray and underperformance in Retier’s mind.
- While most of the chatter around LeBron’s future centers on his decision to stay, and whether Wade and Bosh remain with him, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel [subscription-only] wonders if James could actually lure more talent to join him on the Heat in upcoming offseasons.
- In the same space, Winderman still can’t rule out the possibility of James returning to the Cavs. The firing of GM Chris Grant could be the first of many moves that make the franchise a more appealing destination, including a new coach or a knockout draft choice.
- Howard Beck and Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report discussed whether a sign-and-trade to the Clippers is a realistic possibility. The odds are stacked against such a move due to the Clippers’ lack of cap room, general legacy concerns for James, and a perceived aversion to the Clippers’ unpopular owner Donald Sterling.
Luol Deng Unlikely To Re-Sign With Cavs
There’s little chance, if any, that Luol Deng will choose to re-sign with the Cavs in free agency this summer, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who passes along the news in a piece on Anthony Bennett‘s development. Deng praised the Cleveland organization in January, when he said he was “more than open” to signing an extension, and he even encouraged LeBron James to sign with the club, but it appears he’s soured on the team since. Deng reportedly told a close friend of his displeasure with the Cavs, who’ve seemingly been a hub of unrest all season.
Agent Herb Rudoy held off on extension talks in the days after Deng came to the Cavs via trade last month, though there were rumors that Rudoy would seek salaries of more than $13.5MM a year for Deng. Rudoy and Deng quickly rejected a three-year, $30MM extension offer from the Bulls shortly before the trade. The soon-to-be 29-year-old Deng figures to be a sought-after commodity on the market this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension, and it seems most likely that he’ll become a free agent.
The Cavs will have his Bird Rights, meaning they can sign him to a five-year deal with slightly higher raises than the four-year contract he could get from another team. Cleveland might be reluctant to commit major money for five seasons to a player with whom the team has gone 4-10 so far, so it remains to be seen how much of a financial advantage the Cavs will possess. Just who would negotiate for the team is also a question mark, since it’s uncertain whether interim GM David Griffin will keep his job through the summer.
Cavs Rumors: Jackson, Karl, Griffin, Brown
The Cavs are eyeing Phil Jackson and George Karl, but they’d like to see interim GM David Griffin and coach Mike Brown step up and keep their jobs, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter links). Ostensibly, Jackson, who’s said he’s done with coaching, would be a candidate for the GM job, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com suggested Thursday, while Karl would be sought for a return to the Cavs bench, where he served as coach in the 1980s. In any case, the final three months of the season are an on-the-job audition for Griffin and the “last chance saloon” for Brown, Amico writes. Here’s more on the Cavs, a day after they fired GM Chris Grant:
- Dan Gilbert’s assertion Thursday that the Cavs have what they need to be successful prompts Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal wonder why Grant took the fall for the team’s woes.
- The time to fire Grant was this past spring, not two weeks before the trade deadline, argues fellow Beacon scribe Marla Ridenour, who thinks Gilbert should shoulder responsibility for the franchise’s shortcomings.
- Grant didn’t put up results in his time in Cleveland, but the team’s playoff aspirations for this season were misplaced, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller writes.
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group centers his proposal for upgrading the Warriors on a pair of trade ideas involving the Cavaliers. Cleveland is in much the same desperate position Golden State was a few years ago when it acquired David Lee, Kawakami believes, suggesting Lee could serve the Cavs in a similar role as a bridge to more successful times.
Candidates Emerge For Cavs GM Job
9:27pm: A new name has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Chris Grant. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com (via Twitter), has heard that TNT analyst Kenny Smith might be considered for the position. Smith had previously had discussions with the Kings about their vacant GM job over the summer. Smith hasn’t commented yet, but when the Kings job was in play, he stated, “Honestly, I’ve been looking at both — coaching, and a lot of things have been coming these last couple of years, and this time I’ve been taking it serious. My kids are at an age where I feel comfortable. And the other years, the kids were just too young. I didn’t want to be in it. But I just started taking it serious.”
2:57pm: Interim GM David Griffin is expected to have a shot at keeping his job long-term, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, but there are already other candidates. The Cavs have performed a background check on Knicks director of pro personnel Mark Hughes, and Cleveland is also expected to reach out to Raptors executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, Berger reports. Berger’s sources also indicate Clippers executive vice president of player personnel Gary Sacks could become a candidate.
Weltman was a finalist for the Suns GM post this summer before Phoenix picked Ryan McDonough instead. He has family ties to the Cavs, for whom his father, Harry Weltman, served as GM in the 1980s. Berger suggests that Sacks could be anxious to seek greater control than he has with the Clippers, who took away some of his powers when they hired Doc Rivers.
Berger also expects the Cavs to pursue Phil Jackson, given owner Dan Gilbert’s affinity for splashy names, but that appears to be merely an educated guess. Berger names a handful of other qualified candidates, though none of them are formally linked to the job.
Fallout From Cavs GM Change
The big news out of Cleveland today was the firing of GM Chris Grant. The team was expected to let Grant go after the season, but with the team losing six in a row, and 10 of their last 13 games, team owner Dan Gilbert felt he couldn’t wait that long. There are a number of candidates now being considered to take over the now-vacant GM position. The trade deadline is looming, and the team may be looking to shake up its roster. The only thing certain right now is that the team is in trouble on the court, and now in a state-of-flux off of it.
Here’s more on the state of the Cavs:
- Grant has a reputation around the league as being difficult to work with, and executives from other teams believe he valued his own players too highly, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Gilbert, rather than Grant, engineered the Andrew Bynum signing this past summer, Lowe adds.
- In the press conference where he discussed firing Grant, Dan Gilbert mentioned how no one associated with the team is happy with how the season is going, and he alluded to the need for “cultural and environment change.” If that is indeed the case, then it doesn’t make sense to fire the GM, but keep the coach, writes Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. He believes that Mike Brown might be more responsible for the team’s current woes than Grant. The team isn’t responding to him, and the Cavs aren’t playing with the necessary effort to turn things around, says Pluto, who also believes the team would be in better shape if it had retained Byron Scott for another season.
- Dan Gilbert purchased majority ownership of the Cavs back in 2005. In that time he’s seen his share of turmoil, but he says this season has been the “most challenging,” writes Jodie Valade of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Gilbert didn’t go as far as promising that Mike Brown’s job was safe, but did mention that Brown has been with the team less than a full season. Gilbert also stated, “We’re going to see Mike Brown succeed this year. I think he will be able to do good things in the next 30 games or so.”
- With the team looking to shake up its roster, Basketball Insiders takes a look at the roster and salaries interim GM David Griffin has to work with.
- Lack of progress led to Grant’s firing, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. With the team having had four top-four draft picks in three years, including two No. 1 overall choices, the team should have been moving in a much more positive direction, opines Amico. The poor season that Anthony Bennett is having also didn’t help Grant’s case.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders thinks Grant’s firing suggests roster changes will be coming, with the trade deadline two weeks away. A new GM won’t have any attachment to the players whom Grant brought in, which means a roster shakeup could be happening soon. The only player who should feel secure is Kyrie Irving. Every other player, including Luol Deng, could be on the move, according to Kennedy.
- There are five tasks the new Cavs GM must tackle, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. These include retaining Kyrie Irving, finding a new head coach, re-signing Deng, drafting better, and bringing in more efficient offensive players.
Cavs Fire GM Chris Grant
The Cavaliers have officially announced the firing of GM Chris Grant. Cavs vice president of basketball operations David Griffin will replace Grant on an interim basis.
The news isn’t altogether shocking, given Cleveland’s 16-33 record and Kyrie Irving‘s reported discontent with the franchise, though the timing is a surprise, since it comes just two weeks shy of the trade deadline. A weekend report from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News suggested the team was expected to fire Grant after the season, though it appears owner Dan Gilbert didn’t want to wait that long.
“There is no one in our entire organization who is satisfied with our performance, and to say that we are disappointed is an understatement,” Gilbert said in part, according to the team’s statement. “We all know the great potential of our young talent, seasoned veterans, as well as our recent all-star addition [Luol Deng]. We believe a change in leadership was necessary to establish the best possible culture and environment for our entire team to flourish.”
Cleveland has had numerous misfires of late, including last season’s No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who’s averaging just 3.3 points and 11.9 minutes per game. Gilbert had reportedly given the team a mandate to make the playoffs before Bennett was drafted, and his poor start, reflected in the team’s record, helped push the team into acquiring Deng last month, but Cleveland has gone just 4-10 with Deng in the lineup.
Last night’s loss to the banged-up Lakers was apparently the last straw. L.A. ended the game with only five healthy players and had to exploit a little-known NBA rule to keep Robert Sacre on the floor even though he had fouled out.
Grant, who first joined the club as assistant GM in 2005, took over as GM on June 4, 2010, about a month before LeBron James decided to sign with the Heat. That forced Grant into a rebuilding period, helped along by his shrewd trade of Mo Williams and Jamario Moon for Baron Davis and an unprotected draft pick that became the No. 1 overall selection in 2011. The Cavs used it to select Irving, and while Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick this year, has begun to show signs of development, Grant has had little other success in the draft. Dion Waiters, the No. 4 overall pick in 2012, has been relegated to a sixth-man role after starting for most of his rookie season, and Bennett and Sergey Karasev, last year’s first-rounders, have yet to make meaningful contributions.
The Cavs have relied chiefly on the draft during Grant’s tenure, but the club has also endured high-profile free agent misses. Cleveland committed a combined $29.65MM in guaranteed salary to Jarrett Jack, Earl Clark and the since-traded Andrew Bynum this past summer, none of whom have had the desired effect. The shortcomings of wing players Alonzo Gee and C.J. Miles, Cleveland’s most expensive gets of the summer of 2012, were part of the reason the club traded for Deng.
Grant changed coaches this past offseason, parting ways with Byron Scott and moving swiftly to re-hire Mike Brown, whom the club fired in 2010, shortly before Grant became GM. Brown, in the first year of a five-year contract, has so far failed to deliver winning results.
Griffin has earned respect around the league while serving under Grant in Cleveland’s front office the past three and a half years. He was a candidate for the Clippers GM job in 2012.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports was first to report the firing, as well as the news that Griffin was the favorite to be elevated in Grant’s place (Twitter link). Grantland’s Zach Lowe added detail about Griffin, on Twitter.