Cavaliers Already Have Obvious General Manager Replacement for Mike Gansey

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost general manager Mike Gansey after his promotion to president of basketball operations with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Now Cleveland’s president of basketball operations, Koby Altman, and owner Dan Gilbert must find a replacement for Gansey.

The good news is that the replacement search should be somewhat easy, as the team already has a qualified candidate in waiting.

Assistant general manager Brandon Weems should be promoted.

Weems joined the organization in 2015, but his Cleveland roots run much deeper than that. He’s an Akron native that played high school basketball at St. Vincent St. Mary High School. You guessed it, he’s childhood friends with free agent superstar LeBron James. They played peewee football together before going on to win multiple state championships in high school basketball. 

But this is a hire that would do more than pander to James, who is still contemplating his NBA future according to several reports. It would continue Cleveland’s internal stability. Altman has developed a culture of consistency, calculated decision making and player development. Weems has been around the organization from its championship-winning season in 2016 through the rebuilding years and into an Eastern Conference championship contender. 

After Weems was done playing, he started a coaching journey at Kentucky under John Calipari. He spent three seasons and was part of the 2012 championship-winning team. After that, he served as an assistant coach at Oakland University in Michigan.

He’s partly responsible for the success of expediting the Cavs out of the NBA Draft Lottery and into a constant playoff contender. 

Consistently being promoted within the organization, Weems oversees Cleveland’s amateur scouting efforts. He also has scouting duties at the college and international ranks. Weems is also responsible for assisting Gansey with NBA Draft preparation, from scouting to player rankings and information gathering on each prospect.

The Cavs have consistently drafted well since Weems joined the organization. Outside of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the Cavs also have more recently hit on Jaylon Tyson and Tyrese Proctor. 

The elephant in the room – LeBron

According to Altman, the Cavaliers plan on running this thing back. At his end of season media availability, Cleveland’s president of basketball operations stated his belief in winning a championship with Mitchell as the team’s best player. He sounded committed to Mobley, James Harden and Jarrett Allen.

While keeping the core intact, another obvious move would be pursuing LeBron in free agency. According to reports, James felt “unappreciated” at times throughout the season by the Los Angeles Lakers organization. 

Desperate for a championship, the Cavs wouldn’t take LeBron’s mindset for granted. It’s a reunion that makes plenty of sense.

Weems’ connection with LeBron is obvious. It would be a hire that would move the organization another step closer to winning a championship, especially if they land LeBron. But Weems would also be a great partner for Altman to drive the Cavaliers forward into the future, too.