Posts Tagged ‘Chris Grant’

Report: Cavaliers Pursuing Phil Jackson?

April 22, 2013  ·  8:36AM



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MIAMI – Phil Jackson in Cleveland?

Go ahead and let that sink in for a minute …

If the Cleveland Cavaliers have their way, that won’t just be a question … it’ll be a reality. The Cavaliers’ coaching search shifted from reuniting with former coach Mike Brown to focusing on another, much more accomplished former Los Angeles Lakers coach.

The Cavs have entered the Zen Master’s zone, per a report from ESPN.com, as they reached out to the “retired” Jackson to gauge his interest in coming aboard to help revive the franchise. It’s not the first time the Cavs have approached Jackson:

Jackson interviewed with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert in 2005, when Gilbert was looking for a coach. That year, Gilbert ended up hiring Mike Brown.

Brown and the Cavs have mutual interest in a reunion. Gilbert and Brown met over dinner Sunday night, a league source confirmed.

Jackson is considering other coaching options, sources said. The Brooklyn Nets and possibly the Sacramento Kings – if they relocate to Seattle — are two teams likely to appeal to Jackson more than the Cavaliers, according to sources close to the situation.

The Nets reached out to Jackson before even firing coach Avery Johnson last fall and are expected to check his interest again following the season. The Seattle-based group attempting to purchase and relocate the Kings, led by investor Chris Hansen, is interested in bringing Jackson on board in an executive role if it wins approval for the deal, sources said.

Jackson is believed to be looking for a similar situation as Pat Riley has with the Miami Heat– oversee personnel moves and mentor a head coach. To land and keep Riley, the Heat gave him a deal that included an ownership stake in the franchise.

Jackson entertaining an offer to get back into coaching is one thing. To dive into a situation in need of as much rebuilding work as the Cavs require, however, seems like a longshot. All-Star Kyrie Irving is a promising young talent and the Cavaliers will have financial flexibility this summer, but they just don’t fit Jackson’s usual profile.

With a number of potential coaching vacancies this summer, and Jackson high on the wish list in each and every instance, it makes sense for the Cavaliers to be proactive in their pursuit of arguably the best coach in NBA history.

Whether or not that pursuit produces anything other than interesting headlines and lots of chatter remains to be seen.


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Blogtable: Any hope in Cleveland?

January 19, 2011  ·  1:01PM

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

If you’re Dan Gilbert, what do you do – what can you do – to give Cleveland fans some kind of hope?

Steve Aschburner: In 48-point Comic Sans, Dan Gilbert needs to assure Cavs fans that they are embarking on a massive overhaul of their team via draft picks and trades – forget about free agency. He has to sell them on youth and hope and some sort of blueprint for the future. He needs to push Chris Grant to move players such as Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams to needy contenders for picks and cash, and to serve as facilitator to as many deals as possible while extracting cuts that fit their vision. The only NBA players who would willingly join the current mess are mercenaries coming only for the money they could get while being overpaid. That’s why Gilbert and his team must focus on future NBA players.

Fran Blinebury: Keep your fingers crossed at the lottery, keep your mouth shut the rest of the time and keep believing that karma will reward you in the next life.

Art Garcia: Build an elaborate time machine and go back to 2007 or give the Cavs to Pat Riley. (more…)

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Start The Camp Countdown

September 7, 2010  ·  10:36AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We can see the starting blocks now.

Training camp is around the corner.

The official start is still a few weeks away, but if you pop your head into the practice facility of just about any team today you’re guaranteed to see NBA players getting a head start on the 2010-11 season.

They realize what’s at stake. They know how important the first steps of a marathon can be for anyone with playoff or even loftier expectations.

Summer school is over folks — and don’t you wish the folks grading your papers in college were the same folks handing out these summer report cards around here (not a single F was delivered, not one)?

The pressure is on all around the league, on players, coaches and front office types that understand the time to make a move up the league’s food chain is now. Kobe Bryant and the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were the only ones that could go into the summer with any feeling of satisfaction, knowing full well that the good vibrations could last for only so long.

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It’s time to the make the donuts again, or close to it, and that means there are questions we need answered.

(more…)

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Cavs Make Family Pitch To James

July 3, 2010  ·  3:56PM

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Posted by Sekou Smith

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – For a franchise that hasn’t garnered many positive headlines in recent weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be picking it up at just the right time.

Hiring Byron Scott as coach seems like a perfect fit, with or without LeBron James in the fold.

Their free agency pitch to James Saturday could prove equally insightful, if it went down the way The Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst’s described here:

New coach Byron Scott, general manager Chris Grant, assistant general manager Lance Blanks and owner Dan Gilbert were the principals in the meeting. In addition to presentations from Scott and Grant about their plans, sources said the Cavs also planned to show James a cartoon featuring him and his friends as characters.

It was made in a Family Guy style, which is one of James’ favorite shows, and featured some inside jokes related to the team. Those who know James personally know that he loves cartoons, inside jokes and cheap laughs. The central part of the Cavs’ pitch is that they know him the best.

“We had a very good meeting with LeBron and his group,” Grant said after the sit-down. “It went well, it was fun. It was very interactive. Obviously we know LeBron well. I would characterize it as positive.”

To set the scene, the Cavs organized a “fan tunnel” down East 9th Street that eventually drew hundreds who were provided black “Home” signs by the team. A large group of fans gathered around the garage entrance to James’ office building.

When the Cavs’ group arrived in two vehicles, fans tossed powder over the cars to mimic James’ pregame ritual. James arrived a few moments later in a third different car he’s used this week.

“We think it is pretty incredible that LeBron chose to have these meetings here in Cleveland, his home,” Grant said. “We want to thank the fans for the turnout and support.”

The Cavs know James better than anyone.

After all the speculation of the last two years, and especially the last two months, might something as simple as the right approach is what could sway the decision we are all waiting for?

Time will tell.

I’ve said for weeks that I’d be stunned if James bolted for what looks like a better chance to win a title elsewhere, and I’m sticking to with that theory … at least until Monday!

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Great Scott?

July 1, 2010  ·  8:17AM

Posted by Sekou Smith

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The Cleveland Cavaliers have their coach now.

But what does having Byron Scott in the fold mean for their chances of convincing LeBron James to stay?

It certainly gives the Cavaliers a clear-cut leader to help make the case to James. Yet there is still no indication that this is the move that seals the deal.

After all, this wasn’t exactly the smoothest transaction (Brian Shaw was in one minute and then 24 hours later it appears Scott is the man), as the Plain Dealer’s Bud Shaw points out:

It’s difficult to imagine how the hiring of a rookie head coach (Shaw) would’ve worked as an enticement for LeBron James. Scott probably wouldn’t seal the deal either, but he could help.

Scott has his detractors. He’s not known for burning the midnight oil. He can be rigid in his ways. That said, I guess he rigidly underprepared two teams all the way to the NBA Finals?

Scott said Tuesday he wasn’t waiting for Phil Jackson to decide whether to return to the Lakers. Scott also said he didn’t need to know James’ future before deciding whether to coach the Cavaliers.

Within 24 hours, [Scott's agent Brian] McInerney sent an email to AOL FanHouse critical of the Cavaliers’ coaching search and even went as far as to congratulate Shaw on joining the NBA coaching fraternity.

The email, in part:

“We assumed that due [to] a week of miscommunications with the organization, which continually required on the record correcting, [Cavaliers GM] Chris Grant was aware of our disappointment in media driven coaching search. As a week of ‘corrected’ media reports from ‘our camp’ indicated, we did not appreciate Cavalier executives going ‘off the record’ and creating incorrect news with writers, or at least as was repeatedly told to us by those journalists,” McInerney wrote FanHouse.

With Scott back in the picture, maybe his camp now considers that a case of no harm, no foul.

Things remain as strange as ever in Cleveland.

(Do you know who is running this show?)

Scott has to be a stroke in the right direction.

But if James decides to bolt, it won’t matter who they hire as coach.

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What’s The Plan Cleveland?

June 4, 2010  ·  2:20PM

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Posted by Sekou Smith

LOS ANGELES – So the exodus in Cleveland continues.

First it was coach Mike Brown. Now comes word that general manager Danny Ferry is headed out the door as well. Who’s next, LeBron James?

Sorry Cleveland, that was a low blow.

But seriously, if this is the LeBron retainer strategy (turning the organization over to a first time GM in Chris Grant and heading into July’s free agent frenzy without a coach, a seasoned general manager or any semblance of a strategic plan) I’m not sure this thing is going to work out.

We have to give Ferry credit. He followed Brown to Cleveland and now follows his good friend out of Cleveland. How many guys in the league are willing to show that kind of loyalty?

Speaking of which, where does James fit in all this? Surely, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert isn’t doing all this without any consultation with James or his camp?

All these moves leave more questions than anything. But it’s clear that whatever happens in the very near future, will happen without a couple of the faces you’ve seen during happier times (below). And who knows, all three of the men in that scene could be gone by this time next month.

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