If you're the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, you have two main objectives: Keep LeBron James happy, and make roster tweaks that will prepare the team to be more competitive with the Golden State Warriors next season.
Only one week into the offseason, Cleveland could be in trouble on priority No. 1. The team announced it split ways with general manager David Griffin on Monday afternoon, hours after he was reportedly intimately involved in trade talks surrounding Bulls all-star Jimmy Butler. And LeBron James, the centerpiece of the franchise who publicly advocated for Griffin to be extended with the team, was not consulted before the decision according to a report from ESPN.
"It makes no sense why he shouldn't get an extension," James told ESPN in April. "He's pulled every move -- he's tried to make every move happen -- to better this team to be able to compete for a championship. So we wouldn't be in this position, obviously, without him and without the guys that are here -- from the coaching staff to the players to Griff. He's been a big piece of it."
According to a report from Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, James is "disappointed" in Griffin's departure and " 'concerned' about what this portends for Cavs going forward."
He tweeted his displeasure late on Monday night by not-so-subtly calling out Gilbert and his group's decision to part ways with the GM responsible for the most successful three-year run in franchise history.
If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland! Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1🏆
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 20, 2017
James, who was drafted by the Cavaliers with the first pick in 2003, is widely seen as the savior of the franchise. After leaving for a stint in Miami from 2010 to 2014, he returned to Cleveland and delivered an NBA title in 2016. So not consulting James -- the most influential player in all of basketball, and maybe in all of sports -- seems like a misstep at best.
That seems shortsighted. https://t.co/iIqM9Q5SoE
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) June 20, 2017
Griffin was the general manager of the Cavaliers for three seasons and helped assemble the roster that won the franchise's first NBA title in 2016.