The Dan Gilbert Letter
July 9, 2010Contest Time!
July 9, 2010Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant and head coach Byron Scott took to the podium on Friday afternoon, less than 16 hours after LeBron James announced his intentions to sign with the Miami Heat. With the future of the franchise in question, the two newest members of the Cavaliers staff did their best to assure fans and media alike that the team will continue on without the two-time MVP.
If there was a theme to Friday’s press conference, it was undoubtedly the future. Grant repeated the phrase “moving forward” early and often, even showing a bit of displeasure towards questions surrounding the recently departed James – a player who he described as no longer on the team. Touting Dan Gilbert’s presence within the organization as a major asset, both Grant and Scott stressed the team’s goals have not deviated from those that were present 24 hours earlier.
“Our plan is to win,” said Grant. “All decisions we’ve made have been based upon winning. We now have cap space which is a dynamic we haven’t had in the past. On top of that, we have a very good team here.”
Following James’ announcement late Thursday night, Grant released a statement that lacked any mention of the player himself. Instead, the focus was on the fan support and passion that “will be rewarded” in the upcoming seasons. After a night to sleep on any would-be impulsive emotions, Grant’s tune did not change.
“Our goals remain the same, what we have in place remains the same,” said Grant. “We are very excited about the future. This is an amazing foundation that we have going forward.”
“We just want to thank our fans going back several years. We’re ready to move forward and are looking forward to it.”
Answering questions regarding the current roster and when the team plans on challenging for a championship, Grant made it evident that the team does not plan on rebuilding and that they will try to win every day. Touting the newly created cap space of approximately $12 million – though there has not been a decision made surrounding the possible waiving of guard Delonte West – Grant labeled the near future as “new opportunities.”
Newly hired head coach Byron Scott was understandably hopeful that he would have the talent of James on his roster, admitting that he would have liked the chance to coach a player of his caliber. However, Scott stands by his stance that the current roster is comprised of players who will provide Cleveland with a competitive future without the need to tear things down a rebuild.
“I still think we have a pretty good basketball team,” said Scott “We have guys that are used to winning and are not going to accept less than that. We have a good core of guys that understand that they’ll have to play better, a little harder. The objective is to win a championship and that hasn’t changed.”
Scott claims that his goals for this team have not changed despite the absence of James. He mentioned goals of being a top-five defensive team, something that he is confident the current crop can accomplish.
“Without LeBron, this team has more talent the teams I took over in New Jersey and New Orleans,” said Scott. “I don’t think this is a rebuilding team. We may have to do things differently, but my mindset is the same.”
“I came to work this morning with a big smile on my face. I’m still very, very excited about this team.”
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(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
34 Comments
Whatever.
The Cavs are in a tough spot because of LeBenedict. They probably wouldn’t have a hard time finding a piece or two via trade that could make the team good enough to chase a 5 or 6 seed. I’d say right now, if things break right they are a fringe playoff contender. Of course in the NBA, where you need to land blue chip talent to have any chance of winning a championship, that land of mediocrity – which we Cavs fans experienced every year under Mike Fratello – just ain’t gonna cut it.
Unless you get really lucky (D. Rose to Bulls type lucky), then the franchise is probably going to have to take a step back before it can really take a step forward. Given Gilbert’s passion though, that could be a tough sell for him.
I know this much, I don’t envy Chris Grant.
horrible season
Good to hear Coach Scott step up. Although i think Mike Brown would have been a better fit for a Non-LBJ team…oh well, if Chris Paul is a fan, so am I.
So can somebody explain how LeBron didn’t respect Mike Brown, but he’ll follow Erik Spoelstra? Recipe for disaster. Slick will be trolling the sidelines by February.
Also, I liked Scott’s fire. It’s nice not having quitters on your team…. or so I hear.
They said all the right things. I’ll give em that.
Any word on Z? Is he retiring, going somewhere else? Can we get him for a mil or 2 so we actually have a center on the team?
Chris Grant and Byron Scott to LeBron – we’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.
/mom’d
I’d love to see Z Retire and join the organization in some capacity. For our generation, he IS Cleveland.
While LeBron has been clearly the best Cav EVER, I never felt like he represented US…not sure if it was his love of the Bulls, Cowboys and Yankees, or if it was because he was always so clear to claim Akron as home, and not Cleveland.
Z represents US – hardworking, never gave up, loyal.
What a crappy day to be Byron Scott.
@6 – Yeah, I think Z is a must sign at this point. He and Scola (who is more of a F/C hybrid like AV) are the only decent bigs available. After that, you have Brad Miller and (yikes) the Brian Skinner/Theo Ratliff’s of the world. Note that I didn’t even mention Shaq – he’s over the hill and wouldn’t fit with Byron’s up temp offense (thank goodness!).
BTW did anyone else catch Grant use the word “flexibility” when describing our roster and money situation?
i felt that was like the fat kid next door using the word “healthy” when he takes down the tub of ice cream.
So $12 million. Looking forward to Andrew’s upcoming breakdown of what is left among the ashes of this FA class. With the upcoming lockout, it’ll be interesting to see who is both available and worthwhile. And it looks a tough market out there with people like the Clips, Knicks and others probably still being buyers.
I like that Scott sounds upbeat….he either really is excited or a hell of an actor.
This talk of a S&T with Miami should just go away. I’m not sure why we should help LeBron get more money and only get late 1st round draft picks and Chalmers in return.
FWIW, Heat fans think they can/will sign Z for Vet’s min…
@14 – well, they’ve taken our best player, so now they want to rip the soul from our city as well? I hope Z goes to the Bulls and hits an 18footer to bury the Heat in the playoff next year.
here’s my best plan for getting better for the future, which Gilbert likely doesn’t have the patience to execute
1. Step One: Determine which players on our roster to keep. Focus on young players with good work ethic.
AV, Hickson, Gibson, Green, Jawad, Kaun, Eyenga. I say keep Powe, Parker and Moon as they are vet’s but both good guys and work hard. They can be key on teaching. They probably leave for better situations when their contract is up of course.
2. Step Two: Fire sale the rest of the roster. Try to get as many future 1st rounders and young players back as possible.
Mo, Jamison, Delonte, Telfair, Shaq sign-n-trade (though if Dallas wants him now, we want Roddy-B back not Haywood)
3. Step Three: Identify FA’s to target and go after (we have cap space now). Focus on young, possibly budding players.
Felton – longshot. NYK are going to give him big $$$.
Childress – longshot. he’s a great worker, but he’s likely going to a contender.
Chandler – longshot. he’s going to a contender in the East that needs to stop Dwight. Did Bulls burn that bridge?
Ian Mahinmi – possibly most underrated player in NBA. He’s really, really good.
Ty Thomas – Larry Brown figured out how to use him as a defensive weapon.
Outlaw – only 25 years old. really.
Kleiza – 25 and we do need a SF.
Foye – 26 and he could just be what Delonte was if we trade him.
4. Step Four: Don’t try to get into the playoffs the next 2-3 years. This is going to be difficult as Byron Scott is a good coach, his style is built to wear down teams in the regular season and win games underdogs shouldn’t win. But, it’s important to get into the top10 draft picks.
5. Step Five: Draft well. Most important step and the hardest to execute. Have to nail one superstar and at least not have DuJuan Wagner style misses on the others (getting a Chris Mills is okay if you land that superstar with one of these picks).
6. Step Six: Be patient. Let the players develop, extend the ones who are improving. Don’t get hasty and trade away youngsters for vet’s because you are getting an itchy trigger finger. Be stressing defense during this time so that all the young players are dedicated on that end.
7. Step Seven: When you are ready to compete for the championship again, be honest about the team’s holes and willing to fill them with veterans.
Chris Mills FTW!!
What else could Scott say, what would you expect him to say? I liked your comment Christopher. Anyways I can’t see the current Cavaliers being as competitive as others but I guess we’ll see what happens. If they somehow made the playoffs even as an eighth seed that would be a tremendous achievement.
I would hope they’d save some money and use the draft to rebuild. Gilbert showed he was willing to pay so perhaps when the next batch of free agents come along he can steal his.
In theory, the best way to go about this is to be patient and rebuild from the ground up with young talent. However, if this team loses 50-60 games the next 2 seasons, apathy will set in quickly. If the team is losing and playing to a half empty arena every night Gilbert will lose money fast.
Its a tough call, do we tank, get a top 5 pick and hope a “franchise” player falls into our lap in the next couple of years? Or do we spend big and try to somehow stay competitive? We put all our eggs in one basket and now we got nothing. No draft picks, no valuable trade pieces, limited cap space. I mean we could dump salary and try to go after Melo next year, but if LeBron didnt want to play here then why would Melo? He will probably end up in Miami or New York. I hope this is not the death of professional basketball in Cleveland, but the future looks very bleak at the moment.
Unfortunately, I believe they’re going to have to rebuild through the draft. What FA is going to come here after Gilbert’s meltdown last night?
What FA ever wants to come to Cleveland?
@20 – any FA that wants to get overpaid.
if I was a NBA FA and saw that (or an agent), I’d be licking my chops. oh, so you are desperate Mr. Gilbert. well, i’ve got ‘marginal player X’ that is willing to go on TV and proclaim love for OH and death to LeBron, but you have to pay $Y amount for him.
then again, last time we had cap space, the only guys we could convince to come with overpaying was Hughes, Jones, and Marshall. can it really get any worse?
Free agents arent going to come here now that LeBenedict is gone. But the Cavaliers could work out some trades and acquire some high priced, high baggage type talent that other teams are looking to unload. Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis come to mind. Theres also been rumors, (I stress rumors) that Tony Parker could be available for the right price. Richard Jefferson is another player who has flourished under Scott in the past. Thats what I had in mind when I said, “spend big and stay competitive”. Its sad, but this is the new reality of pro basketball in Cleveland. We’ll have to overpay to get good free agents in here, if we can get them at all, and take on bad contracts through trades in order to win 40-50 games and get bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs. Our best hope, and its a longshot, is to find just the right combination of “blue chip” guys and talented castoffs from other teams, like Detroit in 2004. But teams like that are few and far between. More often than not you need a “Superstar” to be a serious title contender.
@20 I said that about Gilbert’s comments and was told I wore panties or some nonsense. Anyways I would agree however $$$$ talks so if Little Napoleon ponies up I’m sure he’ll get some guys. That being said I’d use the draft unfortunately that means losing.
the Cavs will leave Cleveland for Seattle… book it
OBSERVE
Just brainstorming:
Cavs are 12mil under cap right now. Washington is looking to move Gilbert Arenas. He’s signed through 13/14 and Mo Williams is signed through 12/13. Mo makes 9mil next year and Gilbert makes 17mil next year. You package Mo with a mid tier contract and I bet washington does it.
Gilbert may have some top 5 NBA scoring left in him yet. He’s looking for redemption.
@27 – arenas has the worst contract in the NBA for talent. no way.
@shamrock – you come on here right after lebron left and start using phrases like “you cavs fans” and “you clevelanders” to a bunch of people venting their frustrations and made a couple snide comments (nothing horrible or out of line. but realize the situation) how did you think that would go over?
Please do not get Richard Jefferson, he is awful.
If Gilbert wasn’t recovering from knee injuries almost constantly–oh, and a gigantic freaking head case–who makes about twice what he’s worth, I’d consider it.
Dan has bad knees?
/har har’d
If were going to take on a high scoring, overpaid headcase of a player, I would rather have Monta Ellis. Hes younger than Arenas and doesnt have bad knees. Last I heard Ellis was dying to get out of there, and the Warriors were pretty desperate to unload his contract. Arenas could give you 28 a game in his prime, but much like Allen Iverson he shoots in the low 40’s and is very inefficient.
It will be interesting to see the Cavs sans LeBron, because they have quite a lot of very serviceable players, even if they have no outright superstar. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what they can put together without James. Let’s see what they have for sure:
Center – Andy, JJ (I’m sure we could get him if we want him)
PF – Jamison, Jawad, Powe
SF – Moon, Green
SG – Parker, West?
PG – Mo, Boobie
The holes seem rather obvious – a bit undersized at center, and Parker needs some help in the backcourt.
[…] of the tribulations of the last three months, Grant claimed that he is fully prepared to roll on with the new Cavaliers this […]