Addressing the media for the first time since his Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in Tuesday's championship-clinching Game 6, Cavs general manager David Griffin maintained that his goal this summer is to keep the Eastern Conference champions' core together.
Griff: #Cavs were 33-3 with nucleus after trades. "We very much intend to keep that group together."
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) June 18, 2015
Griffin acknowledged that he expects Kevin Love and LeBron James to opt for free agency given the current salary-cap environment, but added that he also expects both stars to be back in Cleveland when next season tips off.
James' return is as close to a formality as there is, with the game's greatest talent signing a short-term deal with his hometown team last summer in order to maximize his earning power as the cap rises over the coming years.
Love, meanwhile, is no sure bet. The three-time All-Star has been steadfast in his desire to remain a Cavalier recently, but his individual production suffered as the team's third option behind James and Kyrie Irving in his first year post-Minnesota, and his relationship with James was a season-long subject of scrutiny.
On the day the Cavs extended qualifying offers - as expected - to Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova, making both restricted free agents (unless the offers are accepted), Griffin also addressed the future of RFA Tristan Thompson.
"We fully intend to have him here," Griffin said of the 24-year-old power forward. Thompson nearly averaged a double-double during the postseason, when he replaced Love in the starting lineup following the season-ending shoulder injury Love suffered at the conclusion of the first round.
Thompson is one of the league's finest offensive rebounders and an improved, mobile defender, but he reportedly turned down a four-year, $52-million extension last summer, and is said to be seeking a maximum extension. That would be a risky commitment - to say the least - for a capped-out team to make to, essentially, a niche player.
In addition to addressing his pending free agents' futures, Griffin also backed head coach David Blatt in the wake of another report detailing James' rocky relationship with Blatt.
Griffin says he's tired of the negative narrative about Blatt. Adds there will be a top-down review of organization. #Cavs
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) June 18, 2015
"One (of the) things David did as well as anybody - and I wish I did better - was ignore the noise," Griffin said of Blatt, who helped guide the Cavs to the NBA Finals in his first year as an NBA coach following an illustrious European career.
Cavs GM David Griffin on Blatt/LeBron stories: "Relative to the tone of the stories, I really don’t care. Sensationalism sells."
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) June 18, 2015
