Chauncey Billups withdraws name from Cavaliers front office consideration

The Cleveland Cavaliers search for a new President of Basketball Operations continues as Chauncey Billups withdraws his name.

Former NBA star Chauncey Billups won’t be headed to an NBA front office this season. At least, not in Cleveland. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Billups has withdrawn his name from consideration for Cleveland’s President of Basketball Operations.

The Cleveland Cavaliers parted ways with David Griffin on June 19 and have been in search of a replacement ever since. Griffin spent seven years in the organization, piecing together a team that has made three straight Finals appearances.

Billups almost immediately became the front runner. The 2004 Finals MVP currently works at ESPN as an analyst and participates in Ice Cube’s BIG3 league as a member of the Killer 3’s. He skipped the first week of the BIG3 in order to keep the attention on the league, feeling his presence would have more people talking about his rumored job with the Cavaliers.

Billups made his BIG3 debut in Charlotte on Sunday and spoke to reporters after the game on his situation with the Cavaliers. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t offer any insight or news on his candidacy, stating that he was, “still pondering the situation” and that he would “make a decision in the next few days.”

It looks like he made up his mind.

While Billups won’t be joining the Cavaliers front office, that won’t stop him from looking at other NBA opportunities down the line. In the same press conference, Billups said, “Running a team at some point is one of my desires. If this thing with Cleveland goes down, great. If it doesn’t, great. At some point I’m going (to run a team).”

Next: Carmelo will accept trade to Cavs or Rockets

For now, the Cavaliers will have to look elsewhere in their search. As free agency continues and reports of Carmelo Anthony wanting to join the team come out, getting stability in the front office should be a priority.