In case you missed it, the Cleveland Cavaliers completely remodeled their team on Thursday. In a makeover that would make Ty Pennington proud, Cleveland got elbow-deep in trade discussions across the league and landed four uniquely-gifted players whilst shedding away a lot of awkward fits and older veterans. The question everyone is now asking general manager Koby Altman is ‘Why now?’.
“Create a culture everybody wants to be a part of,” said Altman on a conference call Thursday regarding the shakeup. “It’s obvious the goal was to get younger. We addressed the culture of the team and building.”
Culture was the word of the day for Altman, who used the term a multitude of times throughout the half-hour call with media. It was apparent in his tone of voice and way he went about answering questions that the first-year general manager was none too pleased with what he watched come to fruition on the court.
After hauling in Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the 2018 Brooklyn Nets first-round pick in exchange for franchise cornerstone Kyrie Irving this past off-season, many were ready to sing the praises of Altman and the remarkable job he had done in getting such a nice return in a high-pressure situation. Just six months after the blockbuster deal, those same people heralding Altman were ready to run his name in the dirt. To be fair, nobody expected the return the Cavaliers received to turn out so poorly on the floor.
Chemistry issues, locker room drama, and a lot of losing started to spell doom for Cleveland as they embarked towards the All-Star Break. Sure, they were third in the Eastern Conference. But it certainly did not feel like that way to anyone in the Cavs’ locker room or to fans of the team. Nightly struggles against sub-par teams and blowout losses to the cream of the crop showed how rough of shape the Cavs were in, signifying danger of not making it back to the NBA Finals for a fourth-straight time.
From Isaiah Thomas returning and struggling to fit in to losing Kevin Love for an extended period of time, the time for Cleveland to find a flow and get ready for another postseason run was dwindling. Something needed to happen fast and Thursday may have helped save the Cavaliers. Not just for right now, but for the future as well.
The Cavs shipped Thomas, Crowder, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, and Dwyane Wade to different locations in the span of an hour and in return landed Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., George Hill, and Rodney Hood. It was a complete change of the culture, just like Altman wanted. Gone were awkward fits and older veterans that would see fewer minutes and in were fresh legs that were egoless and ready to play both sides of the ball.
“You need everyone to be a live body,” Altman said about the changing of the guard from the oldest NBA team to a moderately younger rendition of the squad. “Fountains not drains.”
That last part of the above quote really caught this author’s ear. Altman so eloquently put that phrase out there and it sums up the Cavaliers’ season to this point. There were so many situations draining the team and sucking the life and fun out of Cleveland that they were essentially empty, dehydrated. They needed fountains- guys that would replenish the body and structure of the team. That’s exactly what they got. Three of the four players acquired Thursday are twenty-five years old and under team control until 2020.
One of the names mentioned a lot along with the four guys brought in was rookie Cedi Osman. The fan-favorite was highly praised by Altman throughout the call, as the general manager made it clear that he and the rest of the Cleveland front office brass wanted to see more of Osman. His electricity along with hustle gives the Cavs a fun feel to them and makes them feel young. Adding three younger players with Osman makes the Cavs feel even more youthful and athletic, the main objective of Altman while making these moves.
Of course, the most important question throughout all of this is the status of LeBron James. With James’ contract being up at the end of the season, one must wonder how he feels about the new acquisitions.
“LeBron’s excited,” said Altman. “I think we’re gonna get a rejuvenated LeBron James and that’s the key. I wanted to see a renewed joy in him. He’s the guy that will take us back to the promised land so we need to put the right pieces around him.”
At the end of the day, Altman set the Cavaliers up beautifully on paper for the foreseeable future. Gone are the days of wondering how bad the team will look if LeBron were to leave town again. Here are the days of enjoying the present while being excited and optimistic about the future of the organization.
Not bad for Koby Altman’s first go at the NBA Trade Deadline.
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