While the Cavaliers didn’t reveal any specific details about the contract extension general manager Koby Altman signed on Friday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com says Altman’s new deal is believed to run through the 2023/24 season, matching head coach John Beilein‘s contract.
According to Fedor, internal dialogue about extending Altman’s contract began shortly after the Cavs’ 2018/19 season ended. When the two sides finalized that deal on Friday, Altman became the first Cleveland general manger to receive a contract extension since Dan Gilbert assumed ownership of the franchise in 2005.
As Fedor writes, Altman and Gilbert have been in “lockstep” when it comes to expectations and organizational philosophies since LeBron James left as a free agent in 2018. Gilbert hasn’t pushed the front office to make the Cavs as competitive as quickly as possible or set any specific dates for a return to contention, and has been entirely on board with the club’s approach to its rebuild.
“Where we are now we have a pretty clear direction and vision, and I think Dan aligns well with a big-picture, three-to-five-year plan. I think our vision is very, very clear,” Altman said, adding that Gilbert is “super excited” about the future draft picks the Cavs have acquired and the flexibility the team has going forward.
Fedor’s article provides an in-depth look at where things stand with Altman and the Cavs, and is worth reading in full — especially for Cleveland fans. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy comments from the Cavs’ GM, via Fedor:
On the Cavaliers’ rebuilding philosophy:
“We’re trying to build this thing with great attitude, great work ethic, and guys who really want to be in Cleveland. Me and Coach Beilein really align on those values. We’ve started to see some of that. Cedi Osman clearly could have gone into the open market next year and tried free agency, but this is where he wants to be. He feels this is home for him. Same thing with Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love. Those are meaningful things for us and those are true Cavaliers.”
On potential next moves:
“We are still in evaluation mode with our team, with the new parts, the staff, the offense, and we like our guys. There’s no sense of urgency to rush to do anything. Last year I think was a little bit different in terms of we knew we wanted to recoup a lot of different draft assets. Where we are now: We have great flexibility, we’re one of four teams that has over $20MM in cap space next summer, so we’re not in any rush to do anything drastic.”
On Kevin Love and his four-year contract extension:
“He knew this was going to be a process,. He knew we were going to bring in some younger guys. He knew we were going to build. He was all-in for that. … For a guy that is a five-time All-Star, loves it here, wants to help us grow, I don’t know how you replace a player that caliber. He’s been great and meaningful to our guys. We are a much better team with him on the floor. The city has embraced him, he’s embraced the city and so it would be really, really tough to move on from him.”
On whether there’s any interest in trading Love:
“No. Not at all.”
Is “True Cavaliers” supposed to be a compliment of some sort?
Right? Love and (gulp, hate to admit it) LBJ brought them a ring. Now they’ll tank a la 76ers for next 3 decades.
Yup Kyrie didn’t do a thing. He only hit the game winning shot in game 7. No biggie
I think it’s pretty obvious that what they were doing when LeBron was on the roster wasn’t sustainable.
When you go that hard in the win-now direction, you’re pretty much left with nothing after it ends. (I’m actually surprised they didn’t trade Cedi 2-3 years ago).
I don’t think they’re tanking (they would have traded Love if that was the plan), but they know it’ll be a few years until they’re competitive again. This year (and probably next year, if they don’t splurge on free agents) will be about finding what you have, and adding to it.
Don’t think they need to tank for ages Garland and Sexton both look alright and have trade value if you get nice offers. Larry Nance does alright, Osman is on a nice deal, Porter and Windler are there. They have lots of expiring deals (Thompson, Clarkson, Delly, Knight, Henson) for if teams want to free up cap space.
Personally I’m not sure how they go this year, I’m not a fan of Sexton and Garland together, I think Love and Thomson are more of a winning duo and Nance should get more game time if you aiming to lose and draft well. I also am not sure about all the back up PGs Clarkson Delly and Knight. I think they should make a couple plain and simple moves like maybe Dion Waiters and 2 seconds for Brandon Knight. Then I’d evaluate the trade market for Kevin Love, Thompson and Sexton to see what’s out there but you have time up your sleeve
Cleveland is like Milwaukee in that you won’t attract big stars via free agency very often so you draft wisely, sign decent players, and get lucky for a few years (LeBron, Giannis).