The Cleveland Cavaliers began an offseason full of changes after firing head coach JB Bickerstaff on Thursday. According to general manager Koby Altman, the team’s progress had stalled under Bickerstaff.
Still, Altman told reporters on Friday that he appreciates the Cavs’ talent core and wants to keep it together.
“I don’t see any big, sweeping changes. I just don’t see them,” Altman said, via Cleveland.com. “Like I said, more data is appealing [how] this doesn’t work then. You can’t win 99 games during the regular season, get to the conference semifinals and say, this isn’t working. Again, this is only the second year of this iteration of this core being together and I have a lot of excitement about the future for this group and the faith in this group.
This offseason is all about Donovan Mitchell’s decision
However, Altman’s intention to bring this group back with a new head coach could be derailed if star guard Donovan Mitchell decides he doesn’t want to stay in Cleveland and requests a trade – directly or indirectly by not agreeing to a contract.
Mitchell is under contract for one more season and has a $37 million player option for the 2025-26 season. If he wants a trade, the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers (according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer) are among the teams that would pursue a deal.
Altman said he couldn’t discuss a new contract with Mitchell until he becomes eligible for a max extension in July (July 30, to be exact). But the Cavaliers can offer the five-time All-Star more money than any other team with a four-year extension worth $200 million.
Based on exit interviews, Altman is confident Mitchell wants to be part of the Cavaliers’ future and is excited about the team’s direction. The firing of Bickerstaff — in whom Mitchell had lost confidence, according to The Athletic — likely adds to that optimism, although Altman denied that Mitchell’s contract situation played a role in making the coaching change.
If Mitchell stays, could Darius Garland go?
Mitchell’s decision would likely impact other roster decisions as well, particularly whether he and point guard Darius Garland are a good fit in Cleveland’s backcourt. Failure to find a solution is likely one of the reasons Bickerstaff was fired. Will a new coach be tasked with making that combination work?
According to Altman, the idea that Mitchell and Garland can’t play together is “overblown.”
Koby Altman was asked if Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell were a good fit.
“There is much more data showing that it works than not […] The other thing we have to realize is that this is only the second year.” pic.twitter.com/lrUnskMnve
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) May 24, 2024
“There is a lot more data showing that it works than not,” he said. “In the last two years together, because they’ve been together for two years, there’s a lot of data we can look at. The last two years, including the playoffs, they’re net positive, +5 together on the floor.”
Altman pointed out that both players had excellent grades in their first season together. Garland averaged 21.6 points and 7.8 assists while shooting 41% on three-pointers. Mitchell scored 28.3 points per game on 48% shooting (39% on 3s).
Why Garland’s production dipped in 2023-24 is something the next coach will have to figure out, unless the guard wants to be traded if Mitchell re-signs. Garland’s agent, Rich Paul, did not clarify this in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
“There’s not much to say,” Paul said. “I think people have their own opinions about what works and what doesn’t work.”
Garland has four seasons remaining on the five-year, $193 million extension he signed in July 2022.
