The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have a banner season in 2020-21; they finished out 22-50. There was again, a bunch of L’s stacked up.
The Cavaliers ended up losing 12 of their last 13, and had a season-high 11 straight losses in that span. That stretch was not an eventful one for Cavs fans.
The Cavs being ravaged by injuries didn’t help their cause throughout the year, though, and Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love (pre-All-Star more so), and Darius Garland missing 18 games at varying points in the season wasn’t ideal. Collin Sexton even missed 13, and in this recent stretch, other pieces weren’t available, for example, of which included Nance.
Other NBA teams have had similar issues, particularly with the league’s condensed season, though, as we know.
Nonetheless, with Cleveland finishing out in a less than stellar way, painting it positively, it appears that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert could be considering making front office changes this offseason, after another forgettable campaign.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) touched on the Andre Drummond buyout, Kevin Porter Jr. being shipped out and the Kevin Love extension as being key front office mistakes, and noted that Cavs general manager Koby Altman‘s resume will be put “under the microscope” by Gilbert this offseason.
Sam Amico of Forty Eight Minutes and OutKick reported how ownership is wondering about the front office’s competence and “the culture in the locker room,” from there.
Amico cited how the Porter situation/essentially shipping out to the Houston Rockets for nothing and the Drummond situation “baffled the team’s veterans and were called into question by the agents for potential free-agent or trade prospects” reached by his sources.
Amico then stated two alternatives in his report to seemingly Altman being potentially terminated.
"“One option the Cavs are considering is hiring a respected voice to serve in a president of basketball operations role and oversee the entire front office, including Altman, sources said. Another option under consideration, per sources, is to bring in a proven front office man, perhaps a former player, as a high-profile team advisor, or ‘special consultant.’ Bernie Bickerstaff, the father of coach J.B. Bickerstaff, currently holds the title of Cavs senior advisor.”‘"
Putting the ride in reverse for a brief second here, glancing back at the Porter thing, the talent is there for him to be a potential star, and we saw flashes of that in his rookie year, and he’s flourished with the Rockets.
I’m not necessarily just brushing that off, but the Cavaliers reportedly gave him chance after chance off the floor, and after a tumultous offseason and a food throwing incident in the locker room early this season, I can’t necessarily blame Altman/the front office for their actions.
The Drummond thing wasn’t ideal, albeit he/his camp were dissatisfied with his minutes-share and Cleveland wasn’t getting much in return for him, anyhow, and didn’t want to take back bad contract money. Not to mention, Drummond’s inefficiences/finishing woes and lack of effort post-Jarrett Allen trade acquisition were detrimental to the team. So that one I’m not making a big deal about.
As for Love, his then-four-year, $120.4 million extension has been a flop, and that’s fair to say, largely considering his prior injury history even before having been set to be extended. With Love’s shooting capabilities though, I understood the reasoning.
But on the plus side, the core is seemingly forming.
The Cavs could have their core, regardless of if front office changes are made.
Whether or not there’s front office changes eventually made by Gilbert/ownership, the core pieces could be forming here.