“Literally the moment we won the championship I knew I was gonna leave. There was no way I was gonna stay for any amount of money.”
So, I guess Cavs fans can start blaming David Griffin for tearing down what could had been a dynasty. It sounds like the GM was all but leading the players out the door.
“There were so many things during that period of time that I wanted to do differently. If you make everything about, ‘It’s a destination. Damn the torpedos, I gotta get there,’ that might be the only time you get there.”
Then why didn't he do things differently? Does he think the Pelicans will never have to weight short-term wants over long-term needs?
It takes a creative GM to strike a balance. It takes a crafty GM to not come off as desperate or a sucker.
Mostly, though, this falls on Dan Gilbert for not hiring a GM or a President with actual experience who could have helped navigate the team through these types of decisions. I mean, Griff came in to the league on the business side of things, he then gained experience working in the FO of the Suns and Cavs, but that doesn't exactly qualify him to build a team, evaluate talent, sustain a contender, etc.
He was good at burning through the capital the team had accumulated, though.
