Kyrie did not want his own team – Amico Hoops

As much as David Griffin the so-called "repair" of the relationship between James Lebron and Kyrie Irving it was not necessary.

Griffin, the former general manager of Cleveland Cavaliers, said his former Cleveland superstars had never really disagreed.

"For me, what I perceive publicly about this relationship is perceived as what I have always seen from the beginning. I have never seen their relationship as being tense. We had a natural collision of things, "Griffin told Dime Magazine," We probably had the greatest player of his generation in LeBron James, who was going to be the most effective and efficient dictator in the ball final. and it will always be.

"Then we had 23-year-old Kyrie Irving, who had already achieved the biggest blow in franchise history, who knew that he was able to do more and wanted to be able to do more to direct a franchise. It has nothing to do with "wanting your own team".

Griffin does not believe that Irving wanted to leave Cleveland to escape the gigantic shadow of James, considered by many to be the best active player on the planet.

"At the time, Irving had made it clear that he could be happier elsewhere. I think it was at a point where he was just looking for a platform to see how good he could be and he was not going to get it on the team that had LeBron James, because if your goal is to win a championship, any coach in the world will put the ball in the hands of LeBron because he is the most effective and dominant game creator in the world. history of the finals, "said Griffin. "So, he's going to have the ball and what's problematic if you want to grow and evolve, is to prove that you are able to improve people at a similar pace. It was natural that they eventually needed different platforms. I think that from a human point of view, what people now perceive as a thaw in their relationships is what they have always been. It's just that their basketball achievements were different. "

Griffin reflected on the time he spent during his tenure in Cleveland and the stress that resulted from it.

"It's when the only thing that will mark success is to win a championship, because your margin of error is much smaller. Many people can enter the trade deadline by being very determined: "I will only make an agreement if it is a lot and it makes me look good," he said. "We (in Cleveland) did not have that luxury. We went into the trade deadline to improve, and I think you saw some league teams recognizing that they needed to improve.

"That's why I had so much appreciation – whether you liked this individual transaction or not – I had a great appreciation of what Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and what they had done by the deadline . They declared a team, then went to a large extent. When you do this, yes, you have a much more stressful trading deadline. "

Although his departure from Cleveland was due to his incapacity and that of the owner of the Cavaliers Dan Gilbert To agree on a contract extension, Griffin praised Gilbert's willingness to do all that was necessary to succeed, which culminated when the Cavaliers won the first Cleveland title in 52 years, after winning the NBA title in 2016.

"We have been truly blessed in Cleveland because Dan Gilbert will spend all that is needed to win. We were able to build incredibly deep and very good staff, "he said. "Most of these people are always present and the quality of the decisions you make as a franchise has everything to do with the quality of the information you get and the strategies you use.

"Dan supported this process with incredible financial resources and played an important role in the decision-making process that also led to this infrastructure. I think we were fortunate to be in a situation where we knew we would have better information than most at the trading deadline. "

Although the common belief is that today's NBA players will make their preferences for the public game known, as in the case of Irving, Jimmy Butler and, more recently, Anthony Davis, Griffin does not consider this perception as just.

"I think this perception that players are more vocal now or more willing to share their opinion is probably not quite right, but I think it comes from the confluence of different events that took place at in recent years, "said Griffin. "The most recent changes to the ABC have actually been designed to help small market teams maintain their star, but the unintended consequences of this are that it puts an awakening. He says, "Hey, listen, you're going to take the super max at this point and if you do not want it from the team you're going to take it, you have to burn their house." I think that's what the agents have, that's what they apply to the super-max and what it was meant for. "

However, as always, the final result is in most, if not all, decisions.

"Unfortunately, the money around the game is so important, the guys who are exclusive shoes, as an example, are earning so much money off the field, money that you can giving them a super-max contract is not enough to mitigate the money they can gain, "he said. "While the initial consequence was that you're more likely to keep a star at home, I think what you've seen is that the star acknowledges," I do not want to be forced to stay here, I want to make my own decision. "Their reaction is to do what you saw done."

Griffin, a regular contributor to the NBA TV, recently played a role in selecting the competitor who rigorously assumed the role of GM to determine whether he possessed the qualities necessary to run an NBA franchise in the UK. part of a show called "GM School, which debuted Tuesday night.

He added that the anxiety aroused by being an NBA general manager at the trade deadline has proven to be pleasing to him.

"I think that with time, I got comfortable with my lack of comfort, which takes time," Griffin said. "In the end, the trade deadline was a really nice process. At first, when you absolutely have to get better, it's quite stressful. "

Griffin's name is behind the recent shooting of Dell Demps by the pelicans of New Orleans. Does he want to come back to the fore to run an NBA franchise?

"It's really fascinating. Projects such as 'GM School' and NBA TV, which I have been able to achieve, have allowed me to be more selective and it is also a revelation for me, "he said. much learned to be removed from the everyday life of a team that, I really feel, will make me better if I come back someday.

"I'm sure there is a situation that would speak to me, a property group that I could mix with and a head coach who can deliver the vision we have. I think that if you can be in a situation where you build a family that will love you enough to tell you what they have to hear, if you can be empowered to do it and be part of it with the property, it's a exciting situation.

"I think there are fewer and fewer, so it's a blessing to be able to be removed from the list and choose your place."