The Cleveland Cavaliers are still in the playoffs, but that doesn't stop rumors from swirling around the organization. According to ESPN, the Orlando Magic are prepared to offer David Griffin their president of basketball operations position at the end of the season.
David Griffin's contract with the Cavs is up, and although LeBron James has endorsed him to re-sign, Griffin hasn't had talks with Cleveland just yet.
Griffin's tenure
Griffin first came to Cleveland in 2010, where he was acting as the vice president of basketball operations. When he was finally given the general manager position, Griffin instantly started making moves.
LeBron James came back home to Cleveland, they drafted Andrew Wiggins with the number 1 overall pick and then traded him to Minnesota for Kevin Love, and Griffin helped build an organization that was feared in the Eastern Conference led by LeBron James.
Of course, Griffin wasn't directly responsible for getting LeBron James back home, but he was responsible for setting up LeBron with the tools to challenge and defeated the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Griffin brought in a plethora of shooters like Richard Jefferson, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, and Channing Frye. Griffin modeled this team into a pace and space system that really thrived with LeBron at the helm.
Why he would leave?
David Griffin has a nice spot in Cleveland, so why would he leave?
In management and even coaching, there's always that next step in your career that you hope to achieve. If you're David Griffin, you might feel like you don't get the respect you deserve because LeBron James overshadows you. If Griffin did accept the position in Orlando and built that team into a winning atmosphere, his resume as a manager and president of operations would skyrocket.
This would be something that he would make his own. LeBron wouldn't be there to take credit for anything, Griffin would take the sole credit there.
It's an intriguing idea but a risky one for David Griffin. His spot in Cleveland is secure as long as LeBron endorses him, and going out on a limb to Orlando could make or break his reputation.
All of these reasons are legitimate but at the end of the day sometimes pushing for your own legacy is bigger than staying at the top of the mountain. Griffin would be back to working his way up and if it became successful he would be looked at as a real amazing general manager and leader of an organization.
