Orlando Magic Should Take A Long Look At David Griffin

The Orlando Magic need to make sure this summer is their most productive one this decade. Hiring David Griffin would be an ideal start.

One key decision looms over all others for the disoriented Orlando Magic. It’s not which free agents to go for this summer, and it’s not even which player to select in the upcoming NBA draft.

What Orlando needs is to hire a general manager, and they need to make sure they get this one right.

Waiting this important decision out for a little while may actually be a good thing, though, as it gives the team a chance to survey the landscape and see who’s available.

One name that has crept up is that of David Griffin, current general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to the always excellent Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Cavaliers are yet to offer Griffin a contract extension to come back next season.

Per Woj, Orlando is looking to capitalize on this opportunity.

"The Orlando Magic’s search process for a new top basketball executive could extend until the end of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff run, which would allow Orlando to gauge the interest of general manager David Griffin, league sources told The Vertical.The Magic are researching multiple possible candidates to replace former GM Rob Hennigan, but the possibility of Griffin does intrigue Orlando CEO Alex Martins and top Magic officials, league sources said."

Obviously, that could all change if the Cavaliers win back-to-back titles, but the possibility of Griffin joining the Magic is an intriguing one. The question is: is it the right one?

Despite what fans may think, there are a few drawbacks to handing somebody like Griffin the reigns.

One such concern that may arise however is just how much power Griffin has in Cleveland and if he is nothing more than a figurehead there.

Make no mistake; the Magic desperately need someone to come in and point this team in some sort of direction.

As it stands, there’s no player in the league who is a four-time MVP winner who feels like coming back to the city that they were born in to win a championship.

Even if Griffin were to get the job, LeBron James isn’t coming with him.

There have also been speculative rumblings that it was James who got deals done for the likes of Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith.

It’s easy to be the general manager of a team with one of the five greatest players of all-time on it, and two of the top 25 players in the league flanking him.

The fact that money doesn’t seem to be an issue—the Cavaliers have the highest payroll in the NBA this season at $127 million—is similar to playing FIFA’s career mode on amateur.

There’s more to it than that, of course, but the success and failure of that team will always start and stop with LeBron James.

It would be an altogether different scenario in Orlando, and fans would be right to wonder if Griffin would be the right fit for that organization.

On the other hand, this is a fantastic opportunity for Griffin to get out from the comfortable surroundings of Cleveland and make a name for himself.

He’s been around a winning culture for some time now, and contributed to the team’s success in a more understated way.

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He managed to turn Anthony Bennett into Kevin Love, while also losing Andrew Wiggins in the process.

But at least he made the right draft move in picking Wiggins to begin with.

He also turned some bit parts into Spencer Hawes, another move that didn’t totally work, but which you would make yourself if the opportunity arose.

Finally, he brought over head coach David Blatt from the Euroleague. Despite not seeing out Cleveland’s eventual championship run with the team, that move took courage.

Pairing a coach who had had success in Europe, but never in the NBA, with James was a risk, and one that could have backfired tremendously.

James was never going to leave the team again no matter, how badly that decision had worked out. But it took bravery and thinking outside the box to not go with a more proven name who was already established in the league.

After all, it would have been Griffin who was shown the exit door if Blatt had been a disaster, which he wasn’t.

To be a part of success and make some underrated moves during the best period in a franchise’s history shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Neither should the fact that the Magic had the eighth-highest payroll in the league this year themselves.

This is a team that clearly isn’t afraid to spend the money needed to be successful; it’s just investing it in the wrong players at the wrong times.

Griffin had money to spend over the last couple of seasons, and he used it well.

Again, having James helps as players will want to join a contender for a chance to win a ring.

The money has gone towards complementary role players like Smith, Richard Jefferson, Kyle Korver, and Iman Shumpert.

Looking at it from the point of view of worst-case scenario, Griffin would, at the very least, be a competent and safe choice.

Former general manager Rob Hennigan was the opposite; a then 30-year-old coming over from the exciting, but still only up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder.

Griffin has experienced success, and if James wanted him gone, he’d have been canned by now. That hasn’t happened, and being good at his job is likely the reason why.

These rumors may be nothing more than someone within the Magic organization leaking this story, simply to drive interest for the position up around the league.

That may seem overly complicated and too clever for it’s own good, but if this team can leak a whiteboard with offseason player targets to the world, anything is possible.

Whatever happens next, though, the Orlando Magic have handled their business well so far.

Step one was firing Rob Hennigan quickly, and the team did that.

This has given them more time to evaluate and hire the right general manager.

As it stands, interim general manager Matt Lloyd can hold down the fort, before reverting back to his role as assistant.

He may yet get the job himself.

But going after a guy like David Griffin shows intent and a desire to be taken seriously.

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We will likely have to wait until the playoffs are over to see if these rumors become anything more, but for now, the Orlando Magic are handling their business this summer correctly.