Shannon Sharpe Says David Griffin’s Exit Will Lead LeBron James To Leave Cavs In 2018

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert announced on Monday that general manager David Griffin is leaving the team, and LeBron James appears to have been uninformed about this decision.

LeBron James Claims He Was Unaware of Cavs GM David Griffin’s Firing

According to ESPN’s Ryen Russillo, James was “surprised” to see the Cavs part ways with Griffin. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, meanwhile, reported Gilbert didn’t meet with James before deciding to let the GM go.

James thanked and expressed his appreciation for Griffin, who had been the Cavaliers’ general manager since 2014, on Twitter late Monday night:

Griffin became acting general manager for the Cavs in February 2014 after Chris Grant was fired from that post, and then became the team’s permanent, full-time GM three months afterwards.

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe were among those who reacted to the news of Griffin’s departure. On Tuesday’s episode of “Undisputed,” the duo reflected on how this development will affect the Cavs’ roster, particularly considering that the team has been rumored to be mulling several trades and that the NBA Draft begins on Thursday.

Of the two hosts of “Undisputed,” Sharpe perhaps made the boldest of all claims during Tuesday’s episode: that Griffin’s exit from the Cavaliers would imply that James would be leaving Cleveland yet again next year.

“It’s over, Skip. LeBron is leaving Cleveland in 2018,” Sharpe told Bayless. “The two most powerful people in that organization are Dan Gilbert and LeBron James. That [was] was directed at Dan Gilbert. ‘I appreciate you if no one else did. We got us one.’”

James, 32, was drafted first overall by the Cavs in 2003 as a high schooler and played in Cleveland for seven years (2003-2010) before joining the Miami Heat. The power forward — nicknamed “The King” — then spent four seasons with the Miami Heat before returning to his hometown in Ohio to play for the team he began his NBA career with.

Sharpe continued explaining his theory for why James will soon leave the Cavaliers, stating that he believes the All-Star and Gilbert may hold a contentious relationship. “Now, we know this, Skip: He’s gone out of his way — he has never addressed, since his return in three years, he’s never addressed his owner by name. He only refers to [Gilbert] as ‘the owner.’”

After discussing James’ potential exit from the Cavs at length, Sharpe concluded by pondering which top NBA players the team might consider acquiring in a trade this offseason or during the draft.

“Now, my thing is where this hurts the Cavaliers. They’re trying to make a move, maybe trying to get a Paul George, maybe trying to get a Jimmy Butler. Who do they call?”

Bayless, meanwhile, revealed he is skeptical of James’ claim that he was completely unaware of the team’s decision to terminate Griffin. Sharpe’s co-host cited James’ status as one of the best players on both the Cavaliers and in the NBA as justification for his doubting the All-Star’s assertion.

“I have a really hard time believing that LeBron James had zero to do with David Griffin’s firing,” Bayless said. “I just have a hard time believing that the most powerful athlete in all of sports, the face — not only of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the face of the NBA — the quote unquote ‘best player on the planet’… and you’re telling me that he had absolutely zero to do, that he is being treated like nothing but an employee of the Cavaliers? He was completely in the dark? That he found out just as we all found out, off the announcement yesterday. ‘Oh, David Griffin’s being fired! I had no idea!,’ say sources close to LeBron.”

Bayless, who has previously criticized the Cavs for their playoff performances, also claims he predicted the Cavs were going to fire Griffin if they lost this year’s NBA Finals — which they did, in five games to the Golden State Warriors. However, Bayless added that Griffin didn’t deserve to be terminated, saying that the team simply need to “sacrifice” one of their executives following that mistake.

Griffinn’s current contract expires June 30. James has one more guaranteed year remaining on his deal — a 3-year, $99,857,127 contract. The four-time MVP publicly endorsed Griffin in April.

According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, (h/t Pro Basketball Talk’s Dan Feldman) James would seriously consider signing with either of Los Angeles’ teams (the Lakers or the Clippers).

Wojnarowski explained that since James helped the Cavs win an NBA title in 2016, he is now at liberty to seek opportunities outside Cleveland if he thinks that will help his career the most.

BOSTON, MA – MAY 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates his dunk in the third quarter as Jae Crowder #99 of the Boston Celtics looks on during Game Five of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.