Fixing the Cleveland Cavaliers this season will be no easy task. Cleveland is barely hovering above .500 with a 18-16 record and will finish the calendar year at home against the Phoenix Suns for a New Years Eve matchup.
Hopefully, Cleveland fans enjoy NYE fireworks after a Cavs win, but the franchise's shaky positioning in the Eastern Conference is still a worrying situation to enter 2026. The Cavaliers have rebuilt the coaching staff successfully, led by last season's Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson. With Atkinson's impressive first year and the rise of role player prospects like Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill and more recently Thomas Bryant, the Cavaliers cannot ignore the opportunity to round out the rotation by the trade deadline.
Despite a difficult record, the Cavs are not far from returning to dominance in the conference. Cleveland has the talent to battle for an NBA Finals appearance, but the personnel's worst habits are still painfully present with poor rebounding and inconsistent effort.
To save the Cavaliers from embarrassment this season, president of basketball operations Koby Altman is the only man for the job. As the head of Cleveland's front office, Altman's 2026 decisions will be the defining factors in the Cavs' postseason chances.
After years of trying the same strategy and seeing continued disappointing results, Altman's New Year's resolution needs to be approaching the trade deadline with a new mindset.
Cleveland's biggest recurring problems are getting worse
This summer, the Cavs made a seemingly savvy trade to bring defensive guard Lonzo Ball to the roster in exchange for young wing Isaac Okoro. Both players present worrisome scoring talents, but each one offers potential to be a top-tier defender. Ball, though, also brings more size and playmaking than his trade counterpart.
Unfortunately, Lonzo's Cavs tenure has been underwhelming at best. He has shown flashes of viability, but he is experience career lows in efficiency and is not fitting as a defensive stopper like the Cavaliers hoped.
While Okoro's offense never materialized to be positive for the Cavs, his defensive prowess was invaluable. Cleveland's perimeter defense has fallen apart without their best point-of-attack stopper available. Lonzo's ability to jump into passing lanes and read offensive movements is one of his best talents for Cleveland, but his expertise is not in stopping the opposing team's best guard scorer.
Additionally, the Cavaliers' biggest downside has not diminished this season. In fact, it has only grown and been a bigger thorn in the team's side than ever before. So far this season, the Cavs have lost the rebounding battle in more than half their games. Evan Mobley is still a plus rebounding big man, but his counterpart Jarrett Allen is averaging just 7.3 rebounds per game, the lowest of his Cleveland tenure.
As a team, Cleveland has the NBA's 22nd-best rebounding percentage at 49.1 percent through 34 games. Defensive rebounding is at 18th across league, and offensive rebounding sits at 16th overall.
The Cavaliers need real change at the deadline
That poor rebounding and a lack of perimeter defense have allowed countless second and third chances for opponents, dropping the Cavaliers' defensive rating to 116.1, ranked 14th in the NBA. The Cavs cannot expect to reach their assumed potential with a below-average defense, especially while employing the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.
Over the years, Altman has been a notably quiet operator during the trade deadline. The Cavaliers spent years silent at the deadline before trading for De'Andre Hunter at last season's deadline.
If the Cavs want to return to the top of the East, Altman needs to be aggressive and pinpoint deals to bring better point-of-attack defense and rebounding to the roster before it's too late. Cleveland's playoffs chances would almost vanish without resolving these lingering flaws, but it's up to Altman to address them.
Trading Allen may be on the board as a positive trade piece, finally breaking up the core four that Altman has confidently kept together since 2022. We recently covered a potential Allen swap with the New Orleans Pelicans to address both issues. If Altman is aiming for a Finals run this summer, the Cavs cannot afford to ignore their worst aspects in favor of holding onto a redundant and easily-exploited core.