Former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin was close to taking the New York Knicks' vacant general manager job two years ago, but lost interest in the job when he found out president Steve Mills wasn't going to relinquish any power of the franchise over to him, according to Frank Isola of The Atheltic.

During his discussions with New York, Griffin was reportedly led to believe he’d have final say on all signings and roster decisions. That turned out not to be the case, though, and Griffin passed on the job.

Griffin, who won a title in Cleveland with LeBron James, was considering an offer to become Knicks GM two years ago before turning down the job.

According to a source, Griffin lost interest in the job when Mills signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to a free agent contract while the Knicks were negotiating with Griffin to run the team. Griffin, who was led to believe he’d have full autonomy, quickly learned that Mills wasn’t about to relinquish any power. The message was that they would share the duties of running the Knicks.

New York and former Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry agreed to a five-year deal for Perry to become the new general manager instead.