Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant and head coach Byron Scott took to the podium on Friday afternoon, less than 16 hours after LeBron James announced his intentions to sign with the Miami Heat.  With the future of the franchise in question, the two newest members of the Cavaliers staff did their best to assure fans and media alike that the team will continue on without the two-time MVP.

If there was a theme to Friday’s press conference, it was undoubtedly the future.  Grant repeated the phrase “moving forward” early and often, even showing a bit of displeasure towards questions surrounding the recently departed James – a player who he described as no longer on the team.  Touting Dan Gilbert’s presence within the organization as a major asset, both Grant and Scott stressed the team’s goals have not deviated from those that were present 24 hours earlier.

“Our plan is to win,” said Grant.  “All decisions we’ve made have been based upon winning.  We now have cap space which is a dynamic we haven’t had in the past.  On top of that, we have a very good team here.”

Following James’ announcement late Thursday night, Grant released a statement that lacked any mention of the player himself.  Instead, the focus was on the fan support and passion that “will be rewarded” in the upcoming seasons.  After a night to sleep on any would-be impulsive emotions, Grant’s tune did not change.

“Our goals remain the same, what we have in place remains the same,” said Grant.  “We are very excited about the future.  This is an amazing foundation that we have going forward.”

“We just want to thank our fans going back several years.  We’re ready to move forward and are looking forward to it.”

Answering questions regarding the current roster and when the team plans on challenging for a championship, Grant made it evident that the team does not plan on rebuilding and that they will try to win every day.  Touting the newly created cap space of approximately $12 million - though there has not been a decision made surrounding the possible waiving of guard Delonte West – Grant labeled the near future as “new opportunities.” 

Newly hired head coach Byron Scott was understandably hopeful that he would have the talent of James on his roster, admitting that he would have liked the chance to coach a player of his caliber.  However, Scott stands by his stance that the current roster is comprised of players who will provide Cleveland with a competitive future without the need to tear things down a rebuild.

“I still think we have a pretty good basketball team,” said Scott  “We have guys that are used to winning and are not going to accept less than that.  We have a good core of guys that understand that they’ll have to play better, a little harder.  The objective is to win a championship and that hasn’t changed.”

Scott claims that his goals for this team have not changed despite the absence of James.  He mentioned goals of being a top-five defensive team, something that he is confident the current crop can accomplish. 

“Without LeBron, this team has more talent the teams I took over in New Jersey and New Orleans,” said Scott.  ”I don’t think this is a rebuilding team.  We may have to do things differently, but my mindset is the same.”

“I came to work this morning with a big smile on my face. I’m still very, very excited about this team.”

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(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)