LeBron James tweets appreciation for departed GM David Griffin
David Griffin's sudden and unceremonious departure as the Cleveland Cavaliers general manager raised a number of questions about the future.
The Cavaliers and Griffin parted ways on Monday, one week after Cleveland's third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals ended in a five-game loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Above all: What does LeBron James think?
The Cavaliers superstar has been vocal in his support for Griffin, whose contract was set to expire at the end of June.
Several hours after owner Dan Gilbert announced his decision not to extend Griffin's tenure, James weighed in with a cryptic tweet about appreciating Griffin even if, maybe, "no one" else did.
If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland! Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 20, 2017
James and Gilbert have history dating to their acrimonious 2010 split.
When James returned to Cleveland in 2014, it was Griffin who assembled the pieces around him, culminating in the most successful three-year stretch in franchise history and their first championship in 2016.
James in turn lobbied for Gilbert to extend Griffin's contract, to no avail.
Gilbert called Griffin's departure a "mutual decision" on Monday.
In a statement of his own, Griffin said he stepped down, adding, "Dan and I know now that we are a team built largely on the concept of fit and we now at a point where the fit is not right for us to continue with one another."
Former NBA guard Chauncey Billups is reported to be a leading candidate to replace Griffin.