Despite not getting LeBron James, Koby Altman believes the Cleveland Cavaliers got better this offseason.
Koby Altman minced no words on Friday.
During a press conference with Cleveland Cavaliers reporters, Altman said the franchise got better in the offseason despite not getting LeBron James.
LeBron left the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason and a lot of people thought the Akron native would come home to end his NBA career with the Cavaliers.
However, LeBron shocked the sports world by signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, who also acquired Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics and signed former Cleveland wing Dean Wade.
The Cavaliers have a talented core of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Cleveland will start those five guys this season and bring newcomer Mario Hezonja off the bench.
Cleveland defeated the Toronto Raptors and the Detroit Pistons to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time since 1992 without LeBron on the roster. The New York Knicks, who won the 2026 championship against the San Antonio Spurs, swept the Cavaliers in the conference finals.
Watson was a terrific addition for the Cavaliers, who needed a small forward after LeBron went to the 76ers and Wade left Cleveland for Philadelphia.
For the Denver Nuggets last season, Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field, 41.1% from beyond the arc and 73.0% from the free-throw line. He's one of the best two-way wings in the NBA.
Watson signed a four-year, $88 million deal to join the Cavaliers. The deal includes a player option and a trade kicker.
Cleveland opens this season against LeBron and the 76ers in Philadelphia. That will be an amazing atmosphere.
Can a core of Harden, Mitchell, Watson, Mobley and Allen win a championship? We'll find out soon.
The biggest move the Cavaliers made this summer was signing Mitchell to a massive extension. Mitchell agreed to a four-year, $273 million maximum contract extension with Cleveland.
The Cavaliers acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in 2022. Mitchell is averaging 26.7 points per game in the regular season and 27.3 points per game in the playoffs in a Cleveland uniform.
It would have been fun to see LeBron come home to play with Mitchell, but King James is now a member of the 76ers, which is really weird to say.
LeBron is first in NBA history in points, field goals, games and minutes. He’s the only player to rank top five all-time in points and assists, the only player to win three Finals MVPs with three teams, the only player with 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 career assists and the only player to score 50,000 points combining the regular season and playoffs.
LeBron holds career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game with the Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers. He’s a four-time MVP, four-time champion, four-time Finals MVP, one-time scoring champion and one-time assists champion.
