Since last Thursday night, the NBA has been full of action with the annual draft and then the beginning of free agency. Teams all over the Association have been making moves, trying to get into next year’s playoffs.
We guess the exception would be the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When you’ve won 60 games like the Cavs have done, you probably don’t need to do much. Oh yeah, those 60 victories have come in the last three regular seasons combined.
We realize there is still time, but more and more it looks like GM Koby Altman continues to be delusional in thinking the island of misfit toys roster he has assembled right now is going to result in at least a spot in the (very stupid) NBA play in tournament.
Right now, J.B. Bickerstaff has two players with the correct size and skill set for the NBA, point guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen. Quite frankly, those are two pretty good building blocks to start.
But the rest of the starting lineup is made up of Collin Sexton, a relentless scorer, but still undersized compared to most of the teams in the NBA at 6’2″, Isaac Okoro, a 6’5″ small forward (by the way, on the Summer League roster, he is listed at 6’6″ and as a guard), and if they are starting rookie Evan Mobley at the four, he certainly has the height, but not the bulk.
Besides the drafting of Mobley, the major acquisition so far this summer is Ricky Rubio, a point guard, further crowding the backcourt. Bickerstaff now has to find enough minutes for Garland, Sexton, Rubio, and Okoro, who again, should be playing guard, although is his offense good enough to play that spot.
And although they might not be reliable sources, rumors are out there that Altman is pursuing a shooter, who likely will also add another body to the backcourt.
The roster screams for someone in the 6’7″ or 6’8″ range that can put the ball in the basket. We haven’t forgotten Larry Nance Jr., who probably should start at SF, but while he does a lot of things very well, he isn’t known for his scoring prowess.
We also know technically Kevin Love is on the roster. Actually, Love would be a good fit (still) at the #4, and would allow Bickerstaff to break in Mobley slowly, but if he’s not buying in to yet another rebuilding season, it’s best to move on.
This rebuild is moving at an iceberg’s pace, because Altman didn’t accumulate any draft picks. He did use some draft capital to get Kevin Porter Jr. two years ago, but we know how that ended. Nor, did he have any cap space, and apparently Cleveland couldn’t really participate in free agency because they didn’t have cap room.
We also think he made a mistake in not offering a qualifying offer to center Isaiah Hartenstein, who came over in the JaVale McGee deal last season. The big man showed he can play, and the Cavs shouldn’t be losing those types of players for nothing.
We know the drafting of Mobley precipitated the move, but you can’t get rid of players who have talent when you have one of the worst records in the NBA.
It would be prudent to level off the talent instead of having the roster super-stacked at two or three spots and devoid of players at other spots.
We have read that the team is targeting 2023-24 because they will have some cap room. That would mean five years of wretched records for the Cavaliers. That’s a tough sell to the ticket buying public.
Again, there is still time to make moves, but it doesn’t look like anything is imminent. Maybe all of the Cavs will get a lot better and their games will magically fit. That doesn’t seem like a good plan for success.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 