The Cleveland Cavaliers’ offseason has not gone especially well for the reigning Eastern Conference champs, and this has reportedly upset their star LeBron James. General manager David Griffin was fired, without James being consulted, and the top candidate to replace him was Chauncey Billups, who turned them down after getting a low-ball offer from Dan Gilbert.
Without a tenured GM running the show, the Cavs have been piecing together signings that are less than inspiring for a team that needed to make significant improvements to catch up with the Warriors. Cleveland re-signed Kyle Korver, and the biggest free agent acquisitions have been Jose Calderon, Jeff Green, and former second-round pick Cedi Osman.
According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports, James has not been pleased with the way Gilbert and the Cavs have handled this offseason and failed to make significant strides to close the gap on the Warriors.
Expecting an aggressive offseason approach that would close the gap on the champion Golden State Warriors, James soon found his anticipation and optimism diminished after Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert dismantled the front office, declining days before the draft and free agency to bring back general manager David Griffin and vice president of basketball operations Trent Redden.
Gilbert’s decision left the Cavs without the franchise’s top two front-office execs at a critical time, and it left James frustrated and concerned about the team’s ability to put together a roster that can better compete with Golden State, the person with direct knowledge of James’ thinking told USA TODAY Sports.
Zillgitt goes on to report that two failed moves in particular upset James, with the Cavs failing to complete a trade for Jimmy Butler — and firing David Griffin when they were on the precipice of acquiring the Bulls’ star — and most recently not signing Jamal Crawford after he was bought out by the Hawks. In both cases, it was the Timberwolves that were able to make deals happen to land Butler and Crawford, while the Cavaliers continue to have needs going into next season.
This report will only further rumors that James will look to leave Cleveland next summer when he hits free agency. The Lakers remain the consensus favorites around the league to land him should he choose to leave the Cavs. Miami seems unlikely and has received no indication he’d want to come back to the Magic City, despite his love to vacation there to this day, and with Chris Paul gone, the Clippers would appear to be out of the running as well.
James being at odds with Gilbert should come as no surprise considering how their relationship deteriorated at the end of his first stint in Cleveland. While Gilbert is paying a hefty luxury tax penalty to keep the key group together with the Cavs, it sounds like that still isn’t enough to appease James who wants to compete for championships, which means trying to play catch up with the Warriors.
