Low-Key Chris Grant Crafts Cavs’ Revival

Low-Key Chris Grant Crafts Cavs’ Revival

By Larry Durstin

 

When former Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry deserted the team’s sinking ship in June, 2010 — right before LeBron James’ preordained “Decision” — the job of sorting through the franchise’s rubble was left to his assistant, Chris Grant.

Ferry’s five-year tenure was marked with poor drafting, questionable free-agent signings and generally unsuccessful trades. The fact that the team put up impressive regular season numbers was a testimony to the individual brilliance of James and the defensive-minded coaching of Mike Brown – both of whom were already in place when Ferry was hired.

The net effect of Ferry’s maneuvering was akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as the Cavs – following their NBA Finals appearance in 2007 – failed miserably in their next three playoff runs before the bottom dropped out just as Ferry was slithering out the door. His performance as GM – coupled with his ineffectual Cavalier playing career – rightly earned him the title of “the world’s only 6’10’’ midget” from James’ biographer Scott Raab.

The unassuming Grant, who played center at the University of San Diego while earning a degree in psychology, is also 6’10” but, based on his less than two years on the job, is piling up gigantic successes in his effort to revitalize the franchise Ferry left for dead. The first move made by Grant was perhaps his most important, as he was able to convince Byron Scott to take the Cavs head coaching position even before James announced his decision to leave.

Scott, who has three championship rings as a player for the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s and coached the New Jersey Nets to an NBA Finals appearance, is one of the classiest and most respected coaches in the game and has brought leadership and stability to the Cavaliers as they have gone through a painful rebuilding process that was marked by the loss of 26 consecutive games last season.

Left with no 2010 draft picks and very little roster flexibility by Ferry, Grant slowly but surely went to work, signing three undrafted players — Samardo Samuels, Manny Harris and Alonzo Gee — who have all shown significant promise, with Gee performing at an extremely high level in a starting position this year.

But it was a little over a year ago that Grant pulled off his greatest coup – trading erratic guard Mo Williams to the Los Angeles Clippers for veteran point guard Baron Davis and the Clippers first round draft pick. Through the luck of the draft lottery, that pick turned out to be point guard Kyrie Irving, who is well on his way to becoming a landslide choice for Rookie of the Year and is playing at a borderline All-Star level already at the age of 19. Irving has been every bit as good – or better – as James was in his rookie year and has become the cornerstone of the franchise’s future.

Of course, in making his moves Grant has had the luxury of having owner Dan Gilbert’s willingness to open his checkbook in order to improve the team. But Ferry also had access to that same open checkbook and was unable to put the pieces together around James to win a championship. Ferry had a job to do and he was unable to do it – so much so that James bolted and the franchise hit rock bottom last season.

The lifeblood of any NBA franchise – other than the glamorous ones in LA, Chicago, New York, Boston and Miami, who can attract big-name free agents – is its ability to accumulate first-round draft picks and occasionally pull off a successful trade. And as far as stockpiling first rounders goes, Grant has been nothing short of magical.

After James cut and ran to Miami, Grant was able to negotiate a deal with the Heat in which he acquired two Miami first round picks (in 2013 and 2015) in an after-the-fact “trade” for the duplicitous LeBron. Then last June, he swapped the enigmatic JJ Hickson to Sacramento for Omri Casspi and a first round pick (which has some complicated conditions to it but could very well lead to a lottery pick sometime in the next few years). Then just last week, he traded Ramon Sessions to the Lakers for their first-round pick this year.

So all in all, the Cavs have at least seven and possibly eight first round picks over the next four years. These are invaluable assets that can be used for selecting top-notch talent from the college ranks or can serve as trading chips to bring in already established players from other teams.

Going into next season, the Cavs appear to have a solid core in place (Irving, Anderson Varejao, Gee and high-leaping rookie big man Tristan Thompson). They also have two first round picks and two high second-rounders in a draft pool that is viewed by many as one of the deepest in years. In addition, because of Grant’s astute handling of player contracts, Cleveland will have at least $20 million in salary cap room to sign free agents and/or give the team financial maneuverability in potential trades.

The remarkable turnaround of the Cavalier franchise is primarily due to the brilliance of the low-key Grant who, since taking over for the high-profile Ferry, has given Cavs fans a reason to be, if not quite ecstatic, then infinitely more hopeful than they were just one short year ago.

 

 

Larry Durstin is an independent journalist who has covered politics and sports for a variety of publications and websites over the past 20 years. He was the founding editor of the Cleveland Tab and an associate editor at the Cleveland Free Times. Durstin has won 12 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards, including six first places in six different writing categories. LarryDurstinATyahoo.com

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