‘Stinks for the Cavs’: What the Cleveland media and more is saying about the Sixers hiring Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey
While many Sixers fans didn't know much about Mike Gansey, the Cleveland media seems like they're going to miss the former Cavaliers GM after he joins Philly's front office.
On Friday, a source confirmed to the Inquirer that the 76ers are set to hire Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey as the team’s next president of basketball operations, replacing Daryl Morey after six season. Gansey is expected to work closely with Bob Myers, who led the search team and is the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, as well as one the architects of the Golden State Warriors dynasty.
Gansey is best known for serving as Cavaliers GM under president of basketball operations Kolby Altman since 2022, where he assisted in an overhaul of Cleveland’s roster including trading for franchise cornerstone Donavon Mitchell and 11-time All-Star James Harden. This season, the Cavaliers were swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
We already took a look at what fans in Philly had to say after the news broke Friday evening. Now, here’s at what the media is saying in Cleveland and elsewhere …
‘A big loss for the Cavs front office’
Although happy for Gansey, local Cleveland sports radio is far from helping him pack for Philadelphia.
“It’s awesome for Mike Gansey; it stinks for the Cavs,” radio host Nick Wilson said Friday on Cleveland’s 92.3 the Fan. “A lot of people really think the world of Mike Gansey.”
After playing professional basketball overseas, Gansey joined the Cavaliers organization in 2011 as a basketball operations seasonal assistant He quickly climbed the organization’s ranks and was promoted to assistant GM in July 2017 before ultimately taking over as the team’s general manager in 2022.
As Cleveland fans will remind you, he’s also a hometown kid. The front office executive grew up a Cavaliers fan in Olmsted Falls, Ohio — a 25-minute drive from downtown Cleveland.
“I always think that’s so cool when you have a local kid that could be the GM of the team he grew up rooting for, how insane that is,” added co-host Jonathan Peterlin. “Leaving to go to the 76ers though. That’s fantastic [for him].”
Cavaliers beat reporter Danny Cunningham echoed his radio colleagues’ sentiments on X, writing, “This is a big loss for the Cavs front office.”
What would you say you do here?
Kevin O’Connor, a prominent podcast host and Yahoo Sports writer, approved of the hiring.
“Always heard good things about Mike Gansey,” O’Connor wrote on X. “He was very involved in targeting guys like Sam Merrill and Max Strus — pro personnel types of decisions. Should be a good hire for the Sixers.”
As O’Connor made reference to, along with helping orchestrate the splash acquisitions of Mitchell and Harden, Gansey was a key member of a front office that has brought in an influx of key role players. Since Gansey was promoted to the team’s general manager, the Cavaliers have added Strus, Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, Tyrese Proctor, and Dean Wade. These pieces have helped fuel Cleveland’s success in recent years, with the Cavaliers winning 64 games during the 2024-25 season and 52 games in their most recent campaign.
But as Jackson Flickinger, editor of the SB Nation site Fear the Sword, pointed out, with his proximity to Altman and the structure of Cleveland’s front office, it’s often difficult to say what specific role Gansey or anyone else played in a given move. For example, was Gansey the one pushing for the Cavs to acquire a 36-year-old Harden? Or was he against it? The answer might change how Sixers fans view this hire.
» READ MORE: Sixers fans split over hiring of Mike Gansey, a WVU legend who recently traded for 36-year-old James Harden
“It’s difficult to parse out what to attribute to members of a coaching staff or front office,” wrote Flickinger. “Not every one of those groups acts the same from team to team, and oftentimes decisions can be made collectively. We can’t always point to a signing or trade happening or not happening because of the work of one member of the front office.
“What we can say is that Gansey is very well respected within the organization. His voice carried weight and will be missed.”
Star players aside, Philadelphia fans have to hope that Gansey continues to hit on role players at his new job.
With former Sixers Jared McCain (Oklahoma City), Isaiah Joe (Oklahoma City), Julian Champagnie (San Antonio), and Landry Shamet (New York) all contributing to teams that made the conference finals, the franchise’s ability to retain and develop role players has come into question. Meanwhile, Sixers sixth man Quentin Grimes struggled in the playoffs, and Philadelphia failed to find reliable secondary scoring in their second-round series loss to the Knicks.