Ferry leaves Spurs, accepts GM job with Cavs
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers finally have their general manager, and with not a moment to spare.
Danny Ferry, who spent the past two years in the front office of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, has accepted the GM job with the Cavaliers, two league sources told the Associated Press on Sunday night.
Ferry, who played 10 seasons with the Cavaliers, completed negotiations with the club Sunday before flying to Cleveland said the sources, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Ferry's hiring is expected to be announced Monday -- one day before the NBA Draft and just a few days before free agency begins.
The Cavaliers currently don't have a draft pick but have reportedly discussed trading forward Jiri Welsch for a second-round selection. That deal could be easier to make now that the Cavs have Ferry.
Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert has been looking for a GM since firing Jim Paxson a day after the Cavaliers' season ended without a playoff berth. Gilbert spoke with several other candidates before deciding on Ferry, who has been San Antonio's director of basketball operations under GM R.C. Buford the past two years.
The 38-year-old Ferry played in a club-record 723 games for the Cavaliers from 1990-2000.
Back in Cleveland, he'll be reunited with first-year Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, who was an assistant with the Spurs when Ferry spent his last three years as a player in San Antonio.
However, while Ferry's return will please Brown, it will surely bring back bad memories for some Cleveland fans.
An All-American at Duke, Ferry was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 1989 by the Los Angeles Clippers. But he held out in a contract dispute and played one season in Italy before the Cavaliers acquired his rights in a trade.
The club dealt rising star Ron Harper for Ferry and waited an entire season until he finished his contract in Italy. Cleveland then signed Ferry to a 10-year, $34 million contract, a decision that made it tough for them to get other players.
In Cleveland, Ferry will have some immediate challenges as he tries to rebuild the Cavs, who faded down the stretch last season.
The club will have roughly $25 million to spend in the free-agency period, which begins on July 1. The Cavaliers also have to decide whether to re-sign All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who made $14.6 million last season. Ferry and Ilgauskas are former teammates and have remained close friends.
