How Koby Altman rebuilt the Cavs into contenders in just 3 years

Altman and the Cavs’ rebuild: The finishing touch

Mobley may have been the last foundational move that ended the rebuild, but when the Cavs stunned the basketball world by acquiring Jazz star Donovan Mitchell they put the finishing touch on their nucleus of the future. This catapulted them into a top 4-5 team in the Eastern Conference and, if most things go right, the best-case scenarios mean you can’t rule them out for getting even the 3rd seed.

With a lineup of Garland/ Mitchell / Okoro/ Mobley / Allen , the Cavs on paper have three 2022 All stars and none of them are Evan Mobley, who has the most upside of all of them. It’s even more amazing that all of these guys are 26 and under. We know what Evan Mobley is defensively, Mobley got real consideration for the All-Defense teams, a rare feat for a rookie.

Offensively, Mobley has a lot of upside as well. He can handle the ball, pass, post guys up and has tremendous touch around the rim. As a rookie he showed the ability to score all over the court with a post-fade , a mid-range game and a pretty good shooting stroke even if the results aren’t quite there yet.

The fit with Mitchell is pretty good too. The Cavs will put out one of the NBA’s best backcourts, and even boasting teammates like Ricky Rubio and Mike Conley, Mitchell has never played with a talent like Garland at point guard. Mitchell isn’t known as a plus defender, but given his strength, 6’10” wingspan and plus athleticism he has the tools to make an impact on that end.

Part of me wonders if having to do everything offensively in Utah and exerting so much on that side of the ball took away from some of his defense. Playing next to someone like Garland in the backcourt and not having to shoulder so much should help with that. Both Garland and Mitchell can play off the ball and Mitchell is a terrific shooter. Okoro/ Mobley/ Allen being able to cover everything on defense makes this an even better fit.

With the Cavs’ trade of Mitchell, it’s very clear the Cavs are betting on Mobley reaching his ceiling or very close to it, which is a future MVP-caliber player. If he does this group is capable of winning a championship sometime in the future, or even more than one. This group could very well be around for a long time.

Again, it can’t be said enough what a good job Koby Altman has done. In more cases than not a lot of general managers rarely see the end of a rebuild. If there was a criticism of Koby for most fans, it was trading Kyrie in Lebron’s final year. Today that trade looks a lot better considering that asset turned into a top-15 player and 3-time All-Star in Mitchell.

Koby got the right coach in J.B Bickerstaff, found Garland at 5th overall , made a key trade in prying Allen away from the Nets, drafted the player most believe will be the Cavs’ best player in Mobley, and finally pulled off the trade for Mitchell that will turn them into a contender this year and possibly a championship team or more down the road. Altman just didn’t just end the Cavs’ rebuild, he turned them into a legit contender in just a few years’ time.