The Cleveland Cavaliers' front office balances postseason heartbreak with roster optimism as looming contract extensions and blockbuster trade rumors shape a pivotal offseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations concluded the team's 2025-26 campaign with his end-of-season press conference on Friday morning at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Just four days after his team was swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman spoke to the media to debrief the 2025-26 season as a whole.
Altman's overall theme of the press conference was that two things can be true at once. On one hand, the Cavs had a "disappointing" end in the conference finals, with pain and hurt in their hearts. On the other hand, Cleveland took "a big step forward" to be in such a position in the first place.
"We hated the way it ended," Altman said. "We were disappointed with the way it ended. I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations."
Topics of the press conference included the following:
- Do the Cavs have enough internally, or do they have to look outside of the building to keep building toward winning a title? James Harden has a player option coming up, and Donovan Mitchell's extension window is coming as he approaches age 30. As the NBA's lone second-apron ball club, there will be decisions to make about how this roster looks and who will stay and who will go.
- Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen showed a lot of toughness, resiliency, and maturation in their respective playoff runs. Altman referred to the two as Cleveland's "cheat code" on both ends of the ball. Even more encouraging for the team, both are still evolving.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo's name has surfaced in trade rumblings around the league after the Cavs' unceremonious end to the postseason. Mobley is the most prominent talent the Milwaukee Bucks appear to covet if such conversations occur. Altman addressed the noise swiftly.
- After the Knicks took all four games in the Eastern Conference Finals, what kind of conversations were had within the organization? Fatigue can't be used as an excuse because the players admitted they were responsible for digging that hole themselves. Altman details the overarching message from exit meetings, particularly with Mitchell and the veterans who want to keep the team's trajectory moving upward.
- How confident are the Cavs in Kenny Atkinson as their head coach? Altman understands how much the franchise has asked of him, especially with the amount of injuries the group suffered at the start of the season and the multiple moves made at the trade deadline. Even with a less-than-stellar result to book-end 2025-26, something has to be said for how Atkinson managed a lot of changes.
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