The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to reshape their front office/coaching staff, as they push to retain the Chosen One in the upcoming LeBron Sweepstakes. After jettisoning head coach Mike Brown following their unforeseen second-round exit at the hands of the rejuvenated Celtics, the team will be moving on with a new general manager as well. Indeed, Yahoo!'s Johnny Ludden reports that GM Danny Ferry has resigned, and Assistant GM Chris Grant will take his place.
Danny Ferry Resigns As Cleveland Cavs GM, Assistant GM Chris Grant Will Take Over
Ferry’s contract ran out at the end of this summer, but, per indomitable Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst, Ferry had hoped to come to terms on a new contract with owner Dan Gilbert and remain with the team. Given that, Ferry’s description of his resignation as a “mutual decision” certainly seems suspect.
And considering how badly the Cavs underachieved relative to expectations this postseason, it should hardly register as a surprise that Gilbert would be wary of retaining Ferry. Once again, the Cavs put together a regular-season juggernaut that was exposed as having too little talent around LeBron James. While individually Ferry's moves might have made sense, and you could have said he "won" his trades (at least with the exception of trading for Antawn Jamison rather than Amar'e Stoudemire), there was no overarching vision about putting a team around LeBron James that made any sense. And, of course, they never found the right sidekick to be the Pippen to LeBron's Jordan (no, Larry Hughes does not count).
With the draft and free agency so close at hand, the Cavs likely couldn’t afford to wait to name a replacement, and Grant offers them to maintain some continuity between their front office and scouts. The larger question is who Grant will tap to be the team’s head coach, as they try to refashion the team to be as LeBron-friendly as possible.
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