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David Griffin: Be Cautious Of Success Breeding Complacency

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David Griffin (@dg_riff) was the General Manager of The Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017. As general manager, Griffin repositioned the organization for continued and sustainable success via the draft and trades, while managing the salary cap to sign key free agents in the summer of 2014, namely LeBron James. David Griffin helped the Cavs reach three straight NBA Finals in his three year tenure with the Cavs.

As the Cavaliers came off their 2016 NBA Championship, David Griffin shares in this video that the biggest challenge after that win was avoiding complacency, as the old adage goes: "Success breeds complacency." Griffin shares that players tend to think they're better than they are after accomplishing something great together. So often after a momentous victory, it can be difficult to have a "next play" mentality. The Cavaliers, in Griffin's opinion, are known best for responding to adversity, but that sometimes complacency is what leads to adversity in the first place. After a great win, it is important to urge a next-play mentality.