The Cleveland Cavaliers are a mostly homegrown contender, but recent draft history shows how often the Cavs have missed opportunities to grow.
Cleveland has made it a priority to discover and develop talent added late in the draft, including undrafted rookies. The Cavs' instinct to trust in young players and grow them into legitimate NBA rotation players has helped add valuable cost-controlled role players around the stars. Outside of the hidden talent discovered and the stars drafted high in the lottery, the Cavaliers' draft-night decisions are questionable at best.
President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman has led Cleveland's efforts since 2017 when he was named the general manager. As the leading voice behind the Cavaliers, he has made eight selections in the first round, five of which were in the lottery. In total, only two of those lottery rookies are still in town, All-Stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.
Shortly after signing a contract extension until 2030, Altman's draft decisions have been called into question in a recent collection of every team's overall draft performance since 2010. Created by CraftedNBA, the study focuses on an expansive grading criteria and methodology. The grades were determined by the player's impact compared to their expected value, their performance against the following five picks and the GM's consistency to find valuable players and avoiding busts.
Outside of Mobley and Garland, Altman's graded performance is significantly worse than what would be expected from a leader of a title contender.
Koby Altman ranked among the worst GMs in draft performance
According to CraftedNBA, of the eight first-round picks chosen, Garland ranks highest in overall value. Drafted fifth overall in 2019, Garland has clearly outperformed the five players chosen directly after him, and his second selection to the All-Star rosters makes him the only Cavs player named an "Elite" draft pick.
Surprisingly, Mobley is ranked as only a "Good" draft pick, two tiers below Garland. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is viewed as the third-best of himself and the five players after him. While Scottie Barnes' Rookie of the Year campaign made an early rivalry between the two forwards, it is hard to find anyone else chosen after him who has an argument to be more impactful.
The first lottery pick of the Cavaliers' modern era, Collin Sexton, ranked as the worst selection the Cavs have made under Altman's leadership. While Sexton has developed into a solid role player, he is one of the worst players out of himself and the following five picks. The 2024-25 MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was drafted just three spots later. Mikal Bridges, a proven 3-and-D stud and playoff performer, was found one spot before SGA and two spots after Sexton.
Overall, with players like Dylan Windler, Isaac Okoro, Ochai Agbaji and Kevin Porter, Jr. failing to make any real impact on the league, Altman received a failing grade of D with an average Surplus PM score of -0.61. He received the second-worst grade of any current GM.
Okoro may be the biggest indictment on Altman's selections. Drafted fifth overall in 2020, the Auburn wing prospect has been one of the least valuable lottery picks of his class. With high-end role players like Obi Toppin and Deni Avdija selected directly after him, Okoro's ranking is a heavily negative mark on Altman. Beyond the next five players drafted, Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey were also discovered after Okoro.
With Okoro's trade this summer, the Cavaliers quietly admitted their failure to land a top-five talent with a top-five pick. Finding an All-Star with two out of three top draft picks is a fairly positive performance, but Okoro is still an unfortunate mistake by the Cavs.
Altman's savvy trade moves and loyalty to positive draft prospects has helped the Cavaliers' rebuild. CraftedNBA also included the value of numerous second-round picks by Cleveland. Considering that the Cavaliers take risks on potential hidden gems in late draft choices, Altman's grade is heavily weighed down unfairly.
Still, his poor grading is a powerful indictment on his poor scouting on talent in the mid-first round. The Cavaliers' best draft picks, Mobley and Garland, were clear-cut choices as top lottery picks. When Altman is tasked to find value beyond the obvious, it seems he is more likely to make the wrong choice, taking a step backwards rather than adding another impactful Cavalier to the roster.
Drafting is not a science with any singular method of finding the best draft night selection. Altman, though, has made one too many bad moves. He has rebuilt the Cleveland Cavaliers from a bottom-feeding team when LeBron James left in 2018 back into a legitimate titan in the Eastern Conference, but his biggest flaw has become more apparent in recent years with Okoro's stagnant offense and Sexton's underwhelming career.