Lasting from 2005 to 2010, Danny Ferry’s stint as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers was marked by his inability to surround LeBron James with enough support to win an NBA championship.
Yet by 2012, two years after he was sacked by the Cavs, Ferry was the subject of a bidding war that resulted in what rival GMs enviously called a “golden ticket” deal with the Atlanta Hawks. In addition to paying him more than $2 million per season for six years, Ferry secured guarantees from Hawks ownership to invest millions in a Developmental League affiliate and a new practice facility, while answering to only one man, majority owner Bruce Levenson.