Former GM David Griffin Advises The Cavs To Make A Kyrie Irving Trade Happen ‘Quickly’

Former Cavs general manager David Griffin hasn’t spoken out beyond a statement released after he and the organization parted ways right before free agency. That changed on Monday when he appeared on ESPN’s The Jump to offer some enlightening insight into the Cavaliers, who are having a very interesting offseason.

Cleveland’s summer has not gone according to script, with the Cavs failing to make a splash addition in either free agency or on the trade market. Their roster-building issues were only compounded by Kyrie Irving’s shocking trade request, which has left the Cavaliers scrambling to find a trade partner that can offer them a package the meets Irving’s value as a 25-year-old star with two years remaining on his deal.

While, theoretically, the Cavs could let this linger into the season in order to hold out for a better deal, there’s risk involved in that play. Griffin explained on The Jump why that was a dangerous move and why he thinks Cleveland needs to make a move before camp begins.

“When you’re pursuing a championship you’re either all the way in or all the way out,” Griffin said. “There’s no in between. So this is a situation where if they know they’re going to be better off apart, they need to get there and get there as quickly as they can.”

The Cavaliers will, at least for one more year, be a contender for the NBA Finals — as will be the case for however long LeBron James is there. With James coming up as a free agent next summer, it would be a significant gamble to let Kyrie stay on into the season, potentially into December when newly signed free agents from this summer can be dealt, in order to get the best offer possible.

As for Irving’s request itself, Griffin had some interesting thoughts and perspective on why Irving’s request was actually a good thing, and showed a tremendous bit of courage to make it known to the organization he wanted out.

Griffin also spoke at length about understanding why Irving would want to get out from under LeBron’s shadow, so he can prove to himself and the rest of the league his true value as a star. Griffin’s appearance was quite interesting and ultimately offered a surprising perspective on how Irving has handled this situation.