Though he has only been on the job for all of three months, Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant is the alleged recipient of a five-year contract. Reported by The Plain Dealer, the deal is technically only an extension of two seasons with a raise in compensation from his original three-year contract which was signed after Grant passed up becoming general manager of the Atlanta Hawks.
Grant refused to comment on the report, but the new general manger has been at the forefront of every other aspect of the team since the resignation of Danny Ferry in early June. Trial by fire, Grant hired a new head coach in Byron Scott, failed to acquired draft choices that had been traded away by past regimes, and endured the most-discussed free agency period in the history of the NBA that conceivably left the team in turmoil.
Regardless of the tribulations of the last three months, Grant claimed that he is fully prepared to roll on with the new Cavaliers this fall.
“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.”
“Our goals remain the same, what we have in place remains the same,” Grant continued. “We are very excited about the future. This is an amazing foundation that we have going forward.”
The man whom Grant replaced in Danny Ferry coincidentally found a new employer not even 24 hours prior. Interviewing with the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trailblazers, Ferry ultimately went where he was comfortable in the city of San Antonio with the Spurs. Winning a championship with the Spurs in 2003, Ferry worked in front office middle management between 2003-2005.
Yahoo! Sports reports that the Spurs aggressively pursued Ferry once Dell Demps (their then VP of basketball operations) left to take a position with the New Orleans Hornets. Though taking a similar role, it is assumed that the return to San Antonio puts Ferry in line to become a general manager in the future. Current Spurs GM Dennis Lindsey, who had previously met with the Phoenix Suns for their then vacant general manager position – one that was later filled by former Cavaliers assistant general manager Lance Blanks.
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Photo: Amy Sancetta/Associated Press