Despite NBA free agency being well underway, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still without a general manager and president of basketball operations. The team moved on from longtime GM David Griffin in June and has not yet found a replacement.
The nearest the Cavs got to finding a new leader in the front office was Chauncey Billups. The former NBA player and current ESPN analyst was reportedly offered a contract by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert but did not accept.
According to Chris Haynes and Marc Spears of ESPN, the reason may have been that it was a lowball offer:
The Cleveland Cavaliers offered former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups what is viewed in NBA circles as a below-market salary of $2 million annually for the role of serving as President of Basketball Operations, league sources told ESPN.
According to sources, the team’s initial offer was $1.5 million. League sources tell ESPN $4 million is typically the starting point of what an individual in that role should earn. Sources maintain financial compensation wasn’t the only factor as to why the 40-year-old Billups turned down the job on Monday after weeks of deliberation, but it played a part.
Gilbert has a reputation across the league as an owner unwilling to spend big money on his team. The salary issued to front office personnel does not affect the salary cap or luxury tax payments.
LeBron James, who was a big supporter of Griffin, is a free agent next year. It has recently been widely speculated that the forward could look to move on from his hometown team for the second time. Gilbert’s reported decision will likely not do him any favors in keeping the superstar player in town.
