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Coach Quin Snyder, lured from a Costa Rican beach vacation to take over in early 2023, still has significant say (and the salary to prove it). The front office has other voices — such as Saleh, assistant GM Kyle Korver, adviser and former Cavs GM Chris Grant and agent-turned-adviser Chris Emens. And in addition to those I already named, seven other people in basketball operations have VP titles.
Chris Grant has removed his name from consideration on a job in the front office with the Atlanta Hawks, reports ESPN's Brian Windhorst. The Hawks were on the market for an experienced executive to join a relatively young front office led by Landry Fields. Grant previously worked for the Hawks and was general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Hawks are in serious talks to hire Spurs executive and former Cavaliers GM Chris Grant as a senior adviser in Landry Fields’ front office, sources said. Grant, a well-respected exec, spent nine years in the Hawks’ organization (1996-2005) before serving as an assistant GM and GM for the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2014.
In the months leading up to the 2014 draft, no NBA franchise scouted the basketball team at the University of Kansas more vigorously than the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs were coming off a tumultuous season, their fourth straight missing the playoffs, and still reeling from LeBron James' decision four years earlier to bolt for Miami. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert responded by firing his general manager (Chris Grant) and his head coach (Mike Brown). He then handed the keys to an NBA lifer named David Griffin. Griffin had broken into the NBA 21 years earlier as an intern with the Phoenix Suns. By 2007 he was senior vice president of basketball operations in Phoenix. In 2010 he left for a similar job with the Cavaliers, and now he was running the show. With the Cavaliers miraculously winning the draft lottery, despite entering the evening with just a 1.7 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, he'd have his choice among three players grouped together at the top of most draft boards: Duke forward Jabari Parker and Kansas teammates Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid.
Silver, who would later replace Stern, was far more understanding of LeBron and ESPN’s point of view, highlighting that ‘The Decision’ got great ratings. Of course, it often gets overlooked that ‘The Decision’ also raised money for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Another thing that apparently bothered Stern and the NBA was that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did not know what was about to happen and was caught in limbo. In Jason Lloyd’s book ‘The Blueprint,’ the story goes that Rich Paul did let then-general manager Chris Grant know about LeBron’s decision before it aired. But Gilbert then, of course, flew off the handle with the comic sans letter. And it was Gilbert who later had to apologize to James to get him to return to Cleveland.
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“The issue with Anthony was, and we had no way of knowing it at the time, the kid had no desire to overcome adversity whatsoever. As soon as it was hard, he was out,” (David) Griffin said. “His whole life, he rolled out of bed bigger, better, and more talented than everybody else. As soon as it was hard, it was over. And I was the one on campus at UNLV. I’m the one who got sold the bill of goods and I bought it hook, line, and sinker. You fuck up sometimes. But I feel bad Chris took it for that, because Chris was the one guy who wasn’t sure.”
Redden worked with Winger in Cleveland, where he rose in the executive ranks as a well-regarded talent evaluator who worked under Danny Ferry, Chris Grant and Griffin. He will complement Winger, who has established a reputation as an expert strategist with a steady administrative hand and strong negotiating skills. For years, the Clippers had among the thinnest staffs in the NBA under the thrifty ownership of Donald Sterling. Since the arrival of Steve Ballmer in 2014, the franchise has grown into a robust organization with a basketball operations department that has expanded exponentially in size. Sources say the team has plans to add another assistant general manager to its brain trust.
Sam Amick: Two more names to watch in Lakers situation, in addition to Rob Pelinka & Arn Tellem: Portland's Neil Olshey & former Cavs GM Chris Grant
He smiles when he sees Delly hit another three or Thompson chase another rebound. He wishes Irving were healthy. He thinks back to 2010-11, when Cleveland lost 26 games in a row, and the future looked bleak. Four years later, the Cavaliers have completed a historic turnaround, and no shortage of people made it possible. James heads the list, of course, with Griffin close behind. But Grant is on there as well. He kept the cap sheet clean and the war chest full, for the moment the Cavs would need it. “You’re proud it all came together for the team,” Grant said. “But more than anything, you’re happy for the people who are still there.”
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The San Antonio Spurs have hired former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant for a role as a team scout, league sources informed ESPN. Grant, 44, has not held an NBA position since he was fired by the Cavs in February 2014. David Griffin, who at the time was the Cavs' vice president of basketball operations, stepped in as the acting general manager before securing the role permanently three months later.
The Nets conducted interviews from Monday to Wednesday -- and in addition to Colangelo, Karnisovas and Marks, that list is believed to have also included Houston Rockets vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, former Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry, Indiana Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, former Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant and Brooklyn assistant GM Frank Zanin.
Waiters said the firing of Cavs General Manager Chris Grant the first week in February really affected him. “That’s a guy who took a chance on me, a young kid like myself coming from where I come from,” he said. “He made my dream come true. You never want to see (anybody) get fired. He’s got a family. You’ve got to feed your kids. What could we have done differently? Did it take him getting fired for us to start playing the way we did? You never know. I know I took it hard because if we’d have been taking care of business like we were supposed to the beginning of the season, he would still be here.”
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