We apparently live in a world where we can’t trust Ice Cube’s word.
The Cavaliers offered Billups a job running their front office, but contrary to Cube’s claim, Billups isn’t going to Cleveland.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Chauncey Billups has withdrawn from consideration for Cleveland's President of Basketball Operations job, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2017
The Cavs’ job is an intriguing one. They’re contending for a championship, and Gilbert is willing to spend big.
But Gilbert can also be a pain, and LeBron James reportedly isn’t recruiting free agents this summer (perhaps a sign he intends to leave in 2018). Fitting between those two can be difficult, and it’s definitely pressure-packed. The position came with an added complication for Billups, who’s close with Tyronn Lue and might not have wanted to oversee the coach.
The Cavaliers are still conducting business with Koby Altman as acting general manager, already agreeing to re-sign Kyle Korver. But they went through the draft and start of free agency without a long-term front-office leader. With such narrow margin to catch the Warriors, Cleveland hasn’t empowered anyone with the vision to narrow the gap.
With Billups out of the picture, where will the Cavs turn now? They might have dodged a bullet, as Billups lacks front-office experience. Though his playing career, intelligence and communication skills give him great promise as an executive, learning on the job isn’t ideal when a team has its championship-contention window open.
But the Cavaliers have already spent a key portion of the offseason without a long-term president or general manager. Whoever gets the job now might be too far behind the eight ball to make much of a difference this season.