LeBron James Says Cavaliers GM David Griffin Should Get Contract Extension

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James publicly advocated for general manager David Griffin to receive a contract extension with the organization when his deal expires after the 2016-17 season.

"It makes no sense why he shouldn't get an extension," James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "He's pulled every move—he's tried to make every move happen—to better this team to be able to compete for a championship. So we wouldn't be in this position, obviously, without him and without the guys that are here—from the coaching staff to the players to Griff. He's been a big piece of it."

James continued:

"

Obviously they always want to bring my name into it and say that obviously, it's easier because guys want to be here because I'm here. But at the end of the day, he still has to press the right buttons because I'm not in the war room, I'm not in the draft room with those [front office] guys. I don't know how much we may be over the luxury tax or if we have a trade exception here or how that's going to work there or how many days we got to do this. So, it wouldn't, seriously, I don't know why it would make any sense to bring in a new GM. That don't make no sense.

"

James' comments come after the superstar very publicly called for the front office to make additions to the roster before the trade deadline. Griffin responded by trading for Kyle Korver and signing veterans Deron Williams, Andrew Bogut—who broke his leg and was lost for the season less than a minute into his Cavs debut—and Larry Sanders to replace Bogut.

In his comments, James also praised Griffin for finding creative ways to add players like Derrick Williams, Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson throughout James' second tenure in Cleveland.

And Griffin has managed to make those moves despite the fact that many general managers are reluctant to deal with the Cavs, according to James.

"Listen, there are a lot of GMs that don't want to help me and help us," James said, before adding, "He still is doing what he needs to do to help this ballclub win [despite that]. And when I came here, when I decided to come back three years ago, I looked Griff dead in the eye and said, 'Listen, I'm here to compete for a championship and that's it.' And he said, 'That's exactly what I want to do too.'"

Nonetheless, Griffin remains without a contract extension. And the not-so-subtle subtext to James' comments appears to be directed at owner Dan Gilbert: Make sure Griffin gets one.