Former Cavs and Suns general manager David Griffin has been out of the NBA for a while, but it sounds like the New Orleans Pelicans are interested in his services.
According to a report from Marc Stein of The New York Times, Griffin had an interview with the Pelicans on Thursday morning:
Former Suns and Cavs GM David Griffin — widely regarded as the most decorated executive candidate on the open market — interviewed with the New Orleans Pelicans today, according to a league source
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 4, 2019
Griffin, now 45 years of age, is currently serving as an analyst for NBA TV and SiriusXM. Most hoops fans will remember him as the man who was in charge of Cleveland's 2016 championship-winning team — a team that employed Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love. However, Griffin and the Cavs parted ways in June 2017, just a few days before his contract was set to expire.
There was some level of speculation surrounding Griffin's departure from the Cavs. Some say he and team owner Dan Gilbert were simply unable to see eye to eye on the team's future. However, others feel the rift ran a bit deeper.
Kyrie Irving, the man who hit “the shot” over Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, was later dealt to the Boston Celtics for a package headlined by Isaiah Thomas and an unprotected first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets. According to reports, Irving learned that the Cavs held a meeting to discuss what sort of value they could get for him in the event of a trade. The meeting was likely hypothetical, but it rubbed Irving the wrong way, and he subsequently asked for a trade.
In many ways, Irving's trade marked the beginning of Cleveland's unraveling. LeBron James, who made it clear that he would like to keep Irving at that time, took his talents to Hollywood in the summer of 2018.
Though he has been away from the executive side of basketball for a while, Griffin would be a fine candidate for the Pelicans, who fired general manager Dell Demps on Feb. 15.
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