Cleveland Cavaliers fans hoping for a big shakeup this summer were encouraged by team owner Dan Gilbert's tweet directly following Cleveland's playoff elimination. Gilbert described the Cavs as being "nowhere close" to where they need to be and promised that the organization would do everything in its power to change that this offseason. Fans immediately wondered whether something as volcanic as an Evan Mobley trade might be on the way.
However, president of basketball operations Koby Altman shut down those notions a few days later during his exit interview. Altman showered Mobley with praise and basically admitted that Cleveland's plan this summer is to keep intact their "core four": Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and James Harden, the latter of whom is expected to opt out of his player option and re-sign a new, multi-year deal with the Cavs.
Don't rule out a Cavaliers summer blockbuster quite yet
Despite the prevailing narrative that Cleveland is about to "run it back" in 2026-27, not everyone's buying it, especially given the Cavaliers' way-too-excessive salary situation that has them stuck in the second apron. ESPN's Brian Windhorst used this second-apron status as a launchpad to wonder aloud whether the Cavs won't indeed make a significant move this summer.
Speaking on ESPN radio, Windhorst acknowledged that Altman suggested Cleveland would stand pat this offseason (at least regarding the Cavs' core four). Still, Windy described this as an "unexpected" development given Cleveland's status as a second-apron team.
"All of the teams that have been in the second apron hate what it does to them, and they get out of it," Windhorst said. "Now, the Cavs may be able to get out of the second apron without having to jettison a player. One of the ways they can do that is basically restructuring James Harden's contract. ... If they're able to keep their core together and get out of the second apron, that would be a successful offseason."
The Cavaliers' offseason won't be an easy one
Getting out of the second apron without trading one of the core four will be a legit challenge for Altman and Cleveland's front office, especially if the goal remains to contend next season. But even if they accomplished that mission, would that actually be a "successful offseason" in the way that Windhorst described. No. Because if the goal is a championship, a successful offseason would look like entering 2026-27 with a roster that is closer to contention than the one that ended 2025-26. Simply keeping your core four and shedding salary doesn't necessarily align with that priority.
If the Cavs think they can bring back the same core, except surround that core with a worse supporting cast than last year AND contend ... well, that's just pure delusion.
There's a reason plenty of fans and analysts have pushed for the Cavaliers to go in a different direction entirely this offseason, whether that entails trading Mitchell or Mobley and retooling massively. "Running it back" and branding that as a step toward contention is propaganda that few fans are going to believe, if any.
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