It was a bit of a surprise that Danny Ferry resigned as General Manager Friday afternoon. Most people figured Ferry would stay on in his position particularly when he didn’t leave after the firing of Mike Brown. Former assistant GM Chris Grant took over the GM duties Wednesday when Ferry officially left the organization.
Still, it’s not as though the management team for the Cavaliers is in chaos. Grant came to the wine and gold at the same time as Ferry, and has been involved in the NBA for a long time. And he and Ferry shared many of the same philosophies, so it’s not like a radical change has come to Quicken Loans Arena.
The guess here is the coaching situation is the reason Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert agreed to disagree, thus causing Ferry to clean out his desk and depart after five years as the GM. The highlight of his tenure is no doubt the trip to the NBA Finals in 2007.
However, Ferry wanted to have the ultimate say on all basketball decisions, and probably Gilbert was open to other options, such as bringing in a coach who might want that kind of power. If you examine the trade Ferry made recently, it’s pretty clear that his vision and Mike Brown’s view were very different.
Brown is, was, and always will be a defensive minded coach. The additions of Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison brought in players who were more offensive minded players to take pressure off of LeBron James. Gilbert likely saw that this didn’t work, and therefore he wants to bring in a coach who knows what it will take to complement James, if he remains with the team.
The coach ultimately needs to make it work, and as Bill Parcells so famously said, if he’s making the dinner, he should get to buy the groceries.
And any coach with a record of success in the NBA will want to try to win with his type of players. He’ll want the power to get things done, and with a GM having the iron fist, that wouldn’t be the case in Cleveland.
James is saying the right thing about having respect for Brown and Ferry, but really, the Cavs best chance to get him to stay in the wine and gold was to clean out the front office and start anew.
Now there are rumors about a possible trade to be made before the NBA draft that will start re-shaping the Cavaliers’ roster, and the new GM is the focal point of these moves. It has been hinted that Cleveland is having discussions with a West Coast team, probably the Golden State Warriors, about a big deal which could involve a lottery pick.
The PD’s Brian Windhorst speculated that Mo Williams could be sent packing and that makes sense. Williams has been very good in the regular season, but his lack of defense hurts the team in the playoffs, and he hasn’t made up for that with a stellar offensive game either.
Danny Ferry did a great job in his tenure with the Cavs. They went to The Finals once, and made it to the conference finals another time. Sometimes, a new perspective is needed in looking at a team. Larry Dolan hasn’t learned this with his team, but Gilbert is willing to take the risk that this is what the Cavaliers need.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 