Cleveland Cavaliers: Was J.B. Bickerstaff really the problem?

The Kevin Love problem

One of Koby's worst moves has to be the release of Kevin Love. The 2016 Champion Love was a Sixth Man of the Year Candidate early in the 2022-2023 season. He was thriving in his new role, shooting 39 percent from deep while averaging around 10 points and seven rebounds through the month of December. His outside shooting and rebounding was a great asset for the young Cavaliers team.

Later, Kevin Love would start to have nagging back and thumb injuries and was no longer effective on the court. His field goal percentages would drop to 30 and 23 (for three-pointers) in the month of January. Due to his decreased production, the Cavaliers would remove him from the rotation in favor of Dean Wade and other younger bench players.

Instead of letting Kevin Love recover from his injury and bringing him back in the linuep when healthy, Altman and the Cavaliers decided to buy out Kevin Love and let him find a contending franchise he could contribute for. Altman was confident that the Cavaliers would no longer need Kevin Love and wanted to do right by him and let him compete for another franchise. However, the Cavaliers would end up paying the price of letting Love walk in a big way.

When the playoffs came around in 2023, the Cavaliers were dismantled by their lack of rebounding and lack of spacing. Mobley and Allen are on the thinner side for big men and got pushed around by Mitchell Robinson and the Knicks. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cavaliers couldn't find any shooting or spacing from their wings and frontcourt. Kevin Love would have been a great solution to both of those problems. He has a larger frame and is an experienced playoff player who could have done a better job keeping the Knicks off the glass. And on the offensive end, he could have provided the shooting that could have opened things up for the Cavaliers.

Altman's faith in Dean Wade is what led to Kevin Love being bought out. But, again in the 2024 postseason, Wade was banged up and unable to play the whole series. Giving up on a proven veteran that fits your teams' needs was not a smart move by Altman and the Cavaliers. It would be a great sight to see Kevin Love still playing in wine and gold.

Should the Cavaliers keep Altman around?

While there have been some serious roster construction issues around this team in the past couple of years, Altman has ultimately done a great job of making the Cavaliers relevant again. His ability to find good players on the trade market for great value, like Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen has been key to turning this franchise around. Altman has also shown an ability to make the big splash moves by bringing in Donovan Mitchell.

This will be an important offseason for the Cavaliers as they navigate the futures of their core four, but Altman should be given the opportunity to continue to lead as general manager. Front office stability is key with successful franchises, cycling through coaches and general managers is rarely the path to winning championships.

The Cleveland Cavaliers decisions on Altman's future will be made apparent soon if he cannot solve the lineup redundancy and provide the team with a trustworthy and proven coach. His job security is not being covered, but don't be surprised if the Cavaliers make some big changes this offseason.