Cavs 2024-25 season preview: Koby Altman and front office
It’s now or never for this core and ultimately the front office.
The Cleveland Cavaliers front office had one primary goal after acquiring Donovan Mitchell in September 2022: Get him to sign an extension. They accomplished that this summer when Mitchell agreed on a deal to keep him in Cleveland through the 2026-27 season, with a player option for the following year.
Koby Altman, Cavs’ President of Basketball Operations, wasn’t shy about where he thinks this team could go in the press release afterward. “We want to align ourselves with the best teams in the NBA and ultimately compete for championships,” said Altman, “and we feel securing Donovan long-term provides us that opportunity.”
Actions always speak louder than words. If the Cavs aim to compete for championships, they may need to make difficult decisions about this team’s core.
The core four’s minutes together held the Cavs back last season. Lineups with Darius Garland, Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen only outscored opponents by 2.7 points per 100 possessions with a 113.6 offensive rating (40th percentile). That will never cut it when the best four-man groupings of their competition registered 7.2 (Boston Celtics) and 20.3 net ratings (New York Knicks) last season.
Teams win championships on the back of their best players and starting lineup. The goal is to put pieces around them that allow that to happen. While it’s fair to criticize some of the front office’s moves in that department, the ancillary pieces can’t solve the issues that are inherent with this core.
Kenny Atkinson was brought in to get this group to play up to their talent level. Whether or not he can will determine this group’s next step and reveal their intentions.
The Cavaliers are good enough to be a 50-win team that can compete for home-court advantage in the first round every season. If that’s all this front office wants to accomplish then there’s no reason to make any pivot out of this group if it’s mostly the same next season. If they want to be more, like Altman said in the press release, they will need to confront the reality of this core.
Allen’s extension this offseason could be a hint that the front office is accepting that this core isn’t going to work. At the very least, they’re keeping their options open. The timing of Allen’s extension allows for the front office to trade him on February 2 which is four days before the trade deadline.
Additionally, there are several other decisions the front office will need to make this season. Caris LeVert has just under $17 million left on his expiring contract. The Cavs would likely be forced to re-sign him next off-season due to the lack of ability to replace his salary slot. If they don’t want to do so, they will need to deal before February’s deadline.
They also will need to decide if this is the year they want to start the clock on going into the luxury tax. With the Isaac Okoro signing, they currently are. How much so depends on the value of Okoro’s contract next season. Reportedly $33 million is guaranteed in his three-year, $38 million extension. They have until the final day of the regular season to get under that threshold to avoid the financial penalties.
This will be a make-or-break season for the Cavs core. They can’t hide behind a lack of shooting or coaching anymore. The same can be said for the front office. This group is the result of every move they’ve made since they signaled they wanted to rebuild with the Kyrie Irving trade. The often half-measures have left them with a talented, but mismatched group that was brought in to cover deficiencies elsewhere. They will be forced to reckon with that this season and decide whether being merely good is enough.