General Manager Danny Ferry

[West Remy]

Leaders nearly named | Beacon Journal | 06/20/2005

Leaders nearly named

Within week, Cavaliers could have matters set

By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sports writer

By this time next week, the Cavaliers could have their leadership settled.

Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown should be able to finalize his future plans, whether it be in Detroit as coach, Cleveland as president of basketball operations or elsewhere.

Last week, the Cavaliers had a second round of talks with San Antonio Spurs director of basketball operations Danny Ferry concerning their opening for general manager.

Contacted Monday, Ferry declined to comment until there is something to comment on.

According to a person close to the search, however, media reports Monday that Ferry will be named the team's general manager after the NBA Finals were premature. It is not yet clear whether Ferry would accept the job if offered. He is happy with the Spurs, and the job with the Cavaliers likely wouldn't make him the organization's top decision-maker.

Ferry, a former No. 2 overall draft pick who played 10 seasons with the Cavaliers, has been working in the Spurs' front office since he retired from playing two years ago.

He worked with Cavaliers coach Mike Brown when he was a player and Brown was a Spurs assistant.

The Cavaliers have interviewed a number of candidates for their general manager position, notably Indiana Pacers executive David Morway, Washington Wizards director of player personnel Milt Newton and Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe.

The team has been operating under the belief that Larry Brown will officially accept the job offer once he's addressed a bladder condition, though he has a history of changing his mind at the last minute.

According to multiple NBA insiders, the Cavaliers started talking with Larry Brown about the president position through back channels as much as 2 ½ months ago, even before the end of the regular season. They received official permission to speak with him in late April.

 

[Mac]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Brown as pres is fine by me as long as he doesnt have control on trades and player movement.

 

[cavincali]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

i just dont get it.

we are trying to become a dominat team and we are going to get danny ferry. they guy has no expierence and we expect him to do a good job.

we have an coach who has never coached a team before and now we want to get a gm who has never been a g.m. before. i think we are going backwards more than we are going fowards.

 

[CBBI]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

i just dont get it.

we are trying to become a dominat team and we are going to get danny ferry. they guy has no expierence and we expect him to do a good job.

we have an coach who has never coached a team before and now we want to get a gm who has never been a g.m. before. i think we are going backwards more than we are going fowards.

Danny Ferry is heavily involved in arguably the most well run organization in the NBA.

He is involved in ALL aspects of running the basketball operations of the Spurs meaning scouting; international and domestic, pro scouting, contracts, the draft, etc. Everything.

He is one of the hottest names in the league in terms of executives ready to run their own team (along with David Morway actually).

 

[cavincali]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

CBBI-thank you. i didnt think of it that way.

 

[QCCav]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Danny Ferry should be a good hire. If I'm not mistaken wasn't his dad also involved in another team's front office operations before?

Edwin

 

[G-MAN]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

the washington bullets, i believe it was bob ferry.

 

[Karma]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Ferry 'knows what it takes'

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter

Tyrone Hill chuckled when told that some Cavaliers fans are still bitter when it comes to Danny Ferry. And some of those old wounds were reopened when The Plain Dealer reported on Sunday that Ferry, a former Cavaliers forward, and the team are in negotiations to bring him in as general manager.

"It's funny that some fans are still mad that Danny didn't live up to the hype as the next Larry Bird," said Hill, another former Cavaliers forward who is now retired. "He never claimed to be the next Larry Bird, plus, he had a good career. He won a championship and he had a good college career. You have to respect that."

The deal between the Cavs and Ferry is expected to be completed following the end of the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs can wrap up the title tonight with a victory in Game 6.

Pistons coach Larry Brown remains the Cavs' leading candidate to become president of basketball operations. Brown, who has had complications due to hip surgery, said he will not make a decision until he visits doctors at the end of the Finals. Ferry is director of basketball operations for the Spurs. He has been in their front office since September 2003. Ferry would replace former Cavs GM Jim Paxson, who was fired on April 21.

Ferry interviewed with the Cavs twice last week while the Spurs were in Detroit during the Finals. Before Game 5, Ferry would only say his attention is on the Finals.

Hill was Ferry's teammate for four seasons. He said Ferry's return is good news for the organization.

"Danny's been on a championship team [the 2002-03 Spurs] and although he didn't play a lot, he knows what it takes to be a champion," Hill said. "In order to have a great organization, you need people [who] have won championships, and you have to start from the top. And when you include the new coach [Mike Brown] and the yet-to-be-named president, the new owner is headed in the right direction."

Spurs GM R.C. Buford declined to comment, but an NBA executive who did not want to be identified said he is confident Ferry will become a solid GM.

"Getting the job in only his second year out says a lot for him as a person," the executive said. "It speaks to the trust people have in him and his ability to make decisions as an executive. . . . This suggests that Danny is capable and confident to make quality and sound decisions to get the organization where it needs to be and where they want to go."

Ferry was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the second-overall pick in the 1989 draft. Ferry held out and played overseas before signing with the Cavs, who acquired his rights in a trade that sent Ron Harper to the Clippers. Ferry spent 10 years with the Cavs and is the team's . all-time leader in games played (723).

Ferry's return to Cleveland would reunite him with new Cavs coach Mike Brown. Brown was an assistant coach with the Spurs (2000-03) during Ferry's last three years as a player.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1119346335234880.xml&coll=2

 

[NarlCavs]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

I still hope this happens. I think Ferry has what it takes to be a very good GM.

One thing he should consider is that if Larry Brown does come to Cleveland he probably won't stay more than 1 or 2 seasons so Ferry than can get more power once L. Brown moves on. I still don't know how Gilbert can give L. Brown so much power when he will be living in Philadelphia and won't even be around the Cavs on a regular basis.

 

[Karma]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Larry Brown would not be so day to day stuff. He will be more a brainstorming guy. It isn't ideal him being in Phili, but it is just a short plane trip.

 

[West Remy]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

The idea of Larry Brown being paid to basically relax in Philly and play golf is insulting. Of course it's a short flight but Brown will pretty much be relaxing, so his attention and intensity wouldn't be there. He would be slacking.

 

[Karma]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

From what I do know about Larry Brown, relaxing and lack of intensity aren't what I call his character traits. With his role he can seperate himself from day to day stuff which can tunnell vision many. His role may be a cushy one, but someone's gotta do it.

 

[NarlCavs]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

I'm pretty sure Larry Brown will have final say and control over any decisions. He might not be dealing with day to day matters but he will have the most power in the organization.
This could change some though. Things are still so up in the air in regards to the Brown situation. I do hope if Brown comes that he has a major readjustment in his thinking. He's always been a short term quick fix guy who moves on quickly. I have doubts that someone at age 64 can suddenly change their way of thinking though.

 

[Cleveland56]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Brown as pres is fine by me as long as he doesnt have control on trades and player movement.

I think all Presidents have final say on this...

On the situation with Ferry, I spoke with Brian Windhorst today from the ABJ, and he said right now he feels Ferry is 50/50 on actually taking the GM position and knows for a fact that he has reservations.

 

[Karma]

Re: Ferry Close to Finalizing GM Deal

Danny Ferry may become the next Larry Bird after all.

The possibility is certainly greater in a front-office job like the one Bird has in Indianapolis than it ever was on the court.

The reaction to Ferry's candidacy for the Cavaliers' GM job is another example of how -- in the absence of championship memories -- grudges have become the comfort food of the Cleveland sports fan.

You would think liposuction or stomach stapling would be called for by now, but apparently the appetite for a tasty grudge never wanes. In this case, it is hunger without a conscience.

Ferry gets lumped in the same general category as Trader Lane, Art Modell, John Elway, Michael Jordan, Bill Belichick, Jose Mesa and all those who had the audacity to turn their backs on Jacobs Field for the kind of money few of us would pass up.

The Ferry grudge is by far the biggest stretch of logic. He wasn't what general manager Wayne Embry said he was when the Cavaliers traded Ron Harper for his rights, so that's his fault?

Ferry will never show up on any list of favorite Cavaliers players. But the list he did make over and over somehow failed to ingratiate him to Cavs fans who believe they see combativeness and toughness in the mirror and demand to see the same in their sports teams.

During those years when the Cavaliers were being insulted as marshmallows, Ferry kept showing up on opponents' list of dirtiest players in the NBA.

As a teammate, he was all class and hard work, a guy who never lashed out at the hurtful and unfair things said about him. He tried his best and took the abuse.

The reasons for Cavaliers fans to throw up a flag at the thought of Ferry running the franchise as GM is that he has never run a franchise, and this one needs to hit the ground sprinting as soon as the Spurs-Pistons series ends.

It's that Dan Gilbert gets this one chance to impress LeBron James.

The reason to wonder isn't that Ferry never became the next Larry Bird. It's that he might not be the next R.C. Buford.

Buford is the San Antonio GM who helped the Spurs keep Tim Duncan by remaking the team with penny-smart acquisitions. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are on his resume, not on Ferry's.

The Spurs speak highly of Ferry, who has immersed himself in everything from the scouting operation to the salary cap as the director of basketball operations. But Gregg Popovich and Buford are the major decision-makers in San Antonio.

It's a measure of Ferry's sense of self that he has privately expressed reservations about taking a GM job in Cleveland that might offer the same compromised authority under Larry Brown. Ferry isn't looking for an alumni seat on the board of directors.

The reason to wonder is that Ferry's candidacy suggests Gilbert is having trouble selling the job to a more experienced GM. The pursuit of Brown has already exacted a cost and could prove even more costly if Brown sees the job as a one-year sabbatical from coaching.

Ferry is following the same map his father, Bob, traced. He wasn't a great enough player here or in San Antonio that can command the instant authority of the retired superstar. So, he's trying to play catch up, as he often did on defense during his playing days.

Ferry is a smart, dedicated people person. Give it some thought.

Haven't Duke players often been better suited for a front office than an NBA court.

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