It is kind of a tradition for the point man for professional sports teams to be the general manager, and normally that person speaks to the media when a major event happens or when the season ends.
That’s why it is peculiar at best that Cavs’ GM Koby Altman has not been neither seen or heard from since he completed the Jarrett Allen trade on January 13th.
Look, we get it. It’s not a pleasant task to discuss what went wrong after a losing season, especially one that ended as dismally as the Cavaliers did, losing 13 of their last 14 contests.
On the other hand, as we tell our children, would you like a list of things we have to do that are part of our job that we don’t particularly care for? It’s part of the gig to stand up and talk to the media about both the good things and bad things that occurred during the season, and to answer questions about the future.
The underlying question must be is Dan Gilbert contemplating a restructuring of the front office. Will Altman emerge from the restructuring with his job or just a new boss? That has to be the only option, because otherwise not having availability with the media after the season concludes is either a bad look, or just plain fear.
We have said before we believe someone else needs to be involved in the future planning of this basketball team and that person cannot and should not have the last name of Gilbert. It needs to be someone who has played or coached in the league, and should be someone not that far removed from doing those things.
And in our opinion, it needs to be someone from outside the organization, meaning someone with a fresh viewpoint on the players on the team. For example, the Cavs have put a lot of stock in Collin Sexton, but what do others not in the Cleveland organization think of him? Who does that person think should be the building blocks of the next winning team wearing wine and gold?
We understand Sexton is a lightning rod among Cavs’ followers, so we can pick out another example. Can Dean Wade be a key piece for a playoff team? He averaged 6 points and 3.4 rebounds playing 19 minutes per game, playing in 63 of them. He’s a stretch four, shooting almost 37% from beyond the arc in 2020-21.
However, to us, he’s a 10th-12th man on a good team. We watch the NBA playoffs and we can’t see him getting meaningful minutes. We don’t think he’s a good enough defender to play at that level.
We think it’s time for a second set of eyes at this point. Perhaps someone new will come in and think Altman is 100% correct with his assessment of things, and if that happens, it will still give another basketball person a chance to evaluate players.
But if that person thinks the future of the franchise is best served by going in another direction, say, building around Jarrett Allen, then that should be the course taken going forward.
We maintain the problem isn’t talent, nor is it coaching, it’s fit. And we are right, then Dan Gilbert and his family have to do the right thing.
People have always taught us that the smartest people know what they don’t know.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 