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Chris Fedor: We all know the complications for the Cavs when it comes to trades. They can't aggregate salaries. They only have really one first-round draft pick that they can trade. They have to be like right on the number in terms of salary matching purposes. But my sources tell me that the Cavs and the Lakers have discussed a general framework surrounding De'Andre Hunter, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht and then bringing in a third team. Now look, there are there are third teams that could be helpful. Brooklyn has the lowest salary number of any team in the NBA. They might be a destination that is willing to take some salary. Um, the Utah Jazz, they are 29th in salary in the NBA. They might be a destination that's willing to take some salary back. By the way, the team that the Cavs have traded with most frequently in the Koby Altman era is Utah, and one of his best friends is Justin Zanik, an executive for the Utah Jazz.
Tomlin, 25, is certainly on the right track now as a two-way forward for the Cavaliers, 6 1/2 years removed from never playing high school basketball and going undrafted by the NBA in 2024. “What a story,” Cavaliers president Koby Altman said to Andscape. “He didn’t play [structured] basketball until college.” Tomlin is averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 assists in 36 games for the Cavaliers this season. Two-way players can play up to 50 NBA games before their team is forced to decide whether to offer a standard contract or waive them. Cleveland is expected to sign him to a standard contract, a source told Andscape.
Additionally, Cleveland’s front office, led by president of basketball operations Koby Altman, is not in a hurry to overhaul the roster, even though the Cavs have the NBA’s most expensive collection of players (with a payroll of $229.8 million, they are the league’s only team currently over the second apron). Team executives want to see how it looks once all of the Cavs’ projected starters are on the court together, which has yet to happen this year. To that end, at least two trade offers for rotation players were rejected by Cleveland, league sources said.
No one stays in the second apron long, at least not in the new rule's infancy. So, while the Cavs' core players are all in their 20s, keeping this group together could well be untenable unless the team starts to win bigger and now. The Celtics, for example, were in the second apron in 2023-24 and, after winning the 2024 title, they stayed in the second apron as ownership spent nearly $100 million in luxury taxes in the two-year span. The Cavs have been upset as the higher seed in two of the past three seasons in the playoffs, and last season's second-round exit to the Indiana Pacers in five games was bitter, after a 64-win season appeared to set them up for a long run. "The question will come for us," Cavs president Koby Altman said. "How do you navigate this collective bargaining agreement and the restrictions that we have? For us, we've set ourselves up to have a runway with the guys we have."
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, however, said he never considered breaking up the Core 4 last offseason. In fact, Altman noted that he also has a commitment from his star foursome long-term as Mitchell and Garland are signed through the 2027-28 season, Allen through 2028-29 and Mobley through 2029-30.
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There were rumors that the Cavaliers were considering trading Allen before the 2024-25 season because of concerns on whether he and Mobley could play well together. The arrival of Atkinson, who coached Allen with the Brooklyn Nets, ended that possibility. But while the Core 4 players were amazing together last regular season, disappointing endings of NBA seasons oftentimes come with change. Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, however, said he never considered breaking up the Core 4 last offseason. In fact, Altman noted that he also has a commitment from his star foursome long-term as Mitchell and Garland are signed through the 2027-28 season, Allen through 2028-29 and Mobley through 2029-30.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Thomas Bryant, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Spencer Davies: Koby Altman mentions that Darius Garland is back on the court doing basketball activities. No timetable. He'll be starting limited participation, but slowly. And before that, #Cavs are proud of his efforts in the weight room this summer when he couldn't be on his feet.
Shams Charania: Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman – the architect of the burgeoning title contender – has signed a contract extension through 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Cavs' front office, including Mike Gansey and Brandon Weems, received extensions amid rise to No. 1 seed in East.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Lonzo Ball in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. As part of the trade, the Cavaliers sent forward Isaac Okoro to Chicago. “We are very excited about this opportunity to acquire someone with the skillset and versatility that Lonzo Ball brings to this team,” said Altman. “We have built a team for sustainable success and finding a way to improve around the edges has been our focus this offseason, and the addition of Lonzo represents part of that process. I would also like to thank Isaac Okoro for his professionalism, hard work, and the true grit he brought to the court during his five seasons in Cleveland. We wish Isaac and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
“If we were going to be reactionary, it would have been last year after everything that was written about that group, and all the rumors and all this and that. We stood pat and look what happened,” Altman said. “I think the same thing now as you lean in even more to what we’re building, the culture that we have here, the internal growth, the youth, the sustainability of that, I think there’s a championship window that we have here that’s wide open and that’s one that we’re going to try to pursue next year and the year after and the year after and so forth.
“We’ve become very, very good at the regular season,” Altman said. “I think for us, I’d rather be where we are now. This is where we want to live, with the expectation of championship and when we fall short of that, everyone’s upset. I want to live in that space. I don’t want to live in this space where we were three, four years ago when we’re worried about ping pong balls and when it was 19 wins, 19 wins, 22 wins. I love the trajectory that we’re on.”
"I think we can all agree that coming into the season no one predicted us to be (the) No. 1 seed. I don't think anyone had 64 wins. Because we were so good we recreated the expectation of Finals. I think everyone in here saw potential champions, which is a new space for us," Altman said. "We recreated the expectation and now we have to live with that. I think it's a space we want to live in and take that into the playoffs next year, knowing we're going to have to change that narrative, knowing that we have get over the hump."
