Employer Cleveland Cavaliers Predecessor Chris Grant Name David Griffin | Title General Manager Spouse(s) Meredith | |
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Born 1973 (age 42–43) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Education Arizona State University Term (with Cavaliers) 2010–present
(as GM) 2014–present | ||
David Griffin (born 1973) is an American professional basketball executive who is the general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Early basketball career
Griffin started as a tournament director for the NIKE Desert Classic pre-draft camp. He was also an assistant coach at Scottsdale Community College. Later, he worked as part of the basketball press information team during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Phoenix Suns
Griffin spent 17 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, beginning with interning for the team in 1993 while he was still a student at Arizona State University (where he eventually graduated from in 1995 with a degree in political science), including the last three as the club’s senior vice president of basketball operations after being named to the position in June 2007.
Cleveland Cavaliers
In September 2010, Griffin was named vice president of basketball operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. On February 6, 2014, he was named the acting general manager for the Cavaliers, after the firing of Chris Grant from that position. In his first trade since becoming acting GM, Griffin traded forward Earl Clark, center Henry Sims, and draft picks to the Philadelphia 76ers for center Spencer Hawes. On May 12, 2014, the Cavaliers announced that Griffin would be named as permanent, full-time general manager.
In the following weeks after being named permanent GM, Griffin brought in Euroleague Champion and Coach of the Year David Blatt as head coach, drafted Andrew Wiggins with the number one pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, signed LeBron James back four years after the infamous "Decision", and acquired All-Star forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade. In order to acquire Love, Griffin gave Wiggins and former #1 overall pick Anthony Bennett to the Wolves. As a result of these moves and many others, Griffin placed second in the NBA Executive of the Year Award voting for the 2014-15 season. Griffin and the Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals after defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
Personal life
Griffin is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, and now resides in Cleveland with his wife Meredith.