Perhaps it was this past June’s draft where the Cavaliers surprised many by selecting Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 overall pick. Maybe it’s the whispers Kyrie Irving will walk when his rookie deal ends in the summer of 2015. Perhaps it was the Andrew Bynum signing this summer that fell apart, or the Luol Deng trade that came as a result. There are a lot of reasons to choose from, which is why it’s not a big surprise the Cavs fired general manager Chris Grant today.
League sources informed Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski of the decision after a humiliating Cavs loss to a Lakers team that almost had to go 4-on-5 after injuries depleted their bench to empty space.
Per Wojo:
After a humiliating loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has fired general manager Chris Grant, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Gilbert informed Grant of his dismissal late Thursday morning, sources said.
Gilbert had grown increasingly frustrated with the losing and dysfunction within the Cavaliers, and the loss to the Lakers – who finished the game with four eligible players – was the breaking point.
The Cavs have lost their last six, including last night’s debacle against the short-handed Lakers. They’re 16-33 on the season and appear destined for a return trip to the lottery this summer (something we presciently predicted back in September).
Now Cleveland is short a GM exactly two weeks before the February 20th trade deadline. But all the in-fighting and bickering associated with this year’s Cavs team will be someone else’s headache now (probably Mike Brown‘s), so at least Chris Grant has that going for him.
Grant replaced GM Danny Ferry — currently doing pretty good in that role with the Hawks — in the summer of 2010 after LeBron James brought his talents to… you know the rest.
(Yahoo)
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