Money was the reason why Chauncey Billups turned down the offer to become the Cleveland Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations. Chris Haynes and Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com reported that the Cavaliers initially offered Billups $1.5 million annually to run the team’s front office. The team raised their offer to $2 million but Billups turned it down. Usually, a team president earns a starting salary of $4 million.
Also, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today said Billups recently received a raise for his job as NBA analyst for ESPN. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Billups had his name removed the list of candidates for the Cavaliers post after several meetings with team owner Dan Gilbert.
In an interview with Wojnarowski, Billups admitted that he wants to lead a team’s basketball operation but said the timing wasn’t right to accept that role in Cleveland. Billups added that he will focus on his career as an analyst and his other business endeavors. He is also currently playing in the B1G3 league.
Did Billups turn down offers because of LeBron James?
There were reports that Billups turned down the offer because LeBron James’ future with the Cavaliers remains uncertain. However, Spears clarified that Billups did not consult with James as he considered the Cavaliers’ offer and that the superstar’s uncertain status “had no bearing” on the retired player’s decision to turn down the job.
Rumors have it that James will leave the Cavaliers in 2018 and move to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavaliers are going through free agency without a team president or a general manager leading the way. The team recently parted ways with David Griffin as general manager last month and allowed assistant GM Koby Altman to run the Cavaliers’ day to day affairs and decide on free agent moves.
James not helping in recruiting free agents
Unlike in past seasons, James is not helping the Cavaliers recruit big-name free agents this time as he was reportedly disappointed with the team’s decision not to keep Griffin. Griffin, who worked as Cavaliers' GM for three years, assembled the squad that won the NBA title last season.
Before Griffin left, the Cavaliers were in play for the services of Paul George and Jimmy Butler but they failed to get any one of them. George was traded by the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder while the Chicago Bulls shipped Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Draft Day.
