CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs are standing at a critical crossroads this offseason, facing accusations of complacency while navigating the treacherous waters of the NBA’s second apron.
As one passionate Cavs fan boldly asked on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast: “Do you think that Koby Altman has become too attached to the roster to accept where changes are needed?”
The question cuts to the heart of the dilemma facing president of basketball operations Koby Altman.
The fan’s challenge was direct: “Every championship team of late has been aggressive in taking risks and improving around the stars ... I feel like we’re overly cautious and afraid of risks, even though taking a big swing on Donovan Mitchell is exactly what made us contenders.”
Chris Fedor pushed back on the complacency narrative, pointing to recent high stakes moves: “I wouldn’t say that this team doesn’t take risks. It was a risk to fire J.B. Bickerstaff. They were coming off back to back playoff appearances. They had won 99 games total over the previous two years. They had just advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.”
The reality, according to Fedor, isn’t about unwillingness to make moves — it’s about practical limitations after the Mitchell trade: “They knew that that was going to be their big move. And that took away a number of their trade assets, their draft capital gone, their younger players that were attractive to other teams, gone.”
Complicating matters further is the looming specter of the NBA’s second apron, a punishing tier of luxury tax with severe restrictions on roster flexibility.
As Fedor explained, “Well, I think when it comes to the second apron, it’s not about Dan’s pocketbook, it’s not about his willingness. It’s about whether team decision makers are okay going into the second apron and all of the limitations when it comes to roster building, all of the restrictions when it comes to external moves.”
For Cleveland, the coming weeks will involve difficult evaluations of players like Isaac Okoro, whose market value appears questionable.
“From everything that I’m told, they’re having a hard time finding anybody that has legitimate interest in Isaac Okoro, unless Isaac also comes with some kind of sweetener from the caps, some kinds of assets attached to his contract,” Fedor stated.
Similar discussions are happening around Dean Wade, as the front office attempts to create financial flexibility for potential contracts for Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill.
The toughest questions revolve around whether this roster, as currently constructed, justifies owner Dan Gilbert writing massive luxury tax checks.
“That’s why I said this is the off season where you have to have a harsh evaluation, where you have to take a hard look in the mirror,” Fedor said. “Because one specific move and all of a sudden maybe you have no financial flexibility or one specific move, and all of a sudden Dan Gilbert’s cutting a luxury tax check for $90 million.”
The timing adds another layer of complexity, as host Ethan Sands explained: “Any move between now and the end of the current league year, which is June 30th must be a compliance with the Cavs apron status in the new league year.”
This creates a technical challenge where the team must operate within this season’s constraints while planning for next season’s financial realities.
Despite these challenges, Fedor believes the organization isn’t fundamentally opposed to paying the luxury tax or crossing the second apron threshold — they simply need confidence that such financial commitments would truly elevate the team to championship contention: “I don’t think this organization is hell bent on avoiding the tax. I don’t think this organization is hell bent on avoiding the second apron. I think they’re just trying to figure out how much sense it makes for them to be a second apron theme at this stage.”
For Cavs fans anxiously watching these developments, the key question isn’t whether Altman or Gilbert is willing to make moves — it’s whether the right moves are even available given the team’s asset limitations and the punishing new CBA restrictions.
The next few months will reveal whether Cleveland’s front office believes this roster deserves the ultimate financial commitment or if painful changes are necessary to create a true championship contender.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
_Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Wine and Gold Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions._