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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Koby Altman’s midseason trade for James Harden was supposed to be the move that got the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2018.
After the New York Knicks dominated in their four-game sweep of the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, Harden’s return is just one of many questions at the top of the roster Altman and the front office will need to figure out over the next month.
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“We’re not in the conference finals without James. We’re in the second apron (of the salary cap) as of right now and we need to figure out what pieces we can bring back. The CBA puts that if you have a really good deep roster, you have to make difficult decisions,” Altman, the Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations, said on Friday.
Cleveland will need to make pivotal decisions on three of its four core players this offseason. The first is Harden, who has a $42.3 million player option for next season. He could decline to re-sign with the Cavs for multiple years.
The 36-year-old Harden averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 turnovers for the Cavaliers in 26 regular-season games. He averaged 19.7 points in the postseason, but his turnovers also went up to 4.7 per game, including five or more in 10 of Cleveland’s 18 games. He also struggled on defense.
“I think people need to take a step back and realize we didn’t trade for MVP James Harden, we traded for James Harden at the end of his career that has transformed himself to becoming one of the best point guards in the league,” Altman said. “We were kind of shaky there in terms of our belief and when he came on board, he gave us a real belief in swagger.”
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Altman and owner Dan Gilbert also need to decide when to offer All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell an extension and if forward Evan Mobley is one of the franchise’s cornerstones moving forward.
Mitchell has two seasons remaining on his contract. The Cavaliers can offer a four-year, $272 million extension beginning on July 7, or Mitchell could wait until next year, when he would be eligible for the five-year supermax contract worth $350…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cavaliers-altman-addresses-tough-offseason-211909538.html
Author : JOE REEDY
Publish date : 2026-05-29 21:19:00
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