CLEVELAND, Ohio — While Cavs fans fret about the team’s inconsistent start, NBA executives are seeing something different: one of the league’s most impressive front offices.
In _The Athletic’s_ annual survey of 36 executives, Cleveland’s brain trust climbed from 8th to 6th, receiving two second-place votes and appearing on 14 ballots overall.
What exactly has impressed the league’s decision-makers? It’s not just the blockbuster moves, but Cleveland’s uncanny ability to find value where others see nothing.
“In a variety of regards, they’re really good,” said an exec who had the Cavaliers on their ballot. “What Cleveland has done with the back end of their roster in terms of talent identification is really impressive beyond the stars. Look at the guys who they have grown internally who have been widely available.”
This praise comes amid significant financial constraints.
“When you’re a team like the Cavs and you’re the only team in the NBA in the second apron and you’ve got all these restrictions and these limitations,” Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor said on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. “You have to find cheap help. You have to find cheap playable help. And I think that’s what it comes down to.”
That cheap, playable help has come in the form of Dean Wade, who’s playing the fifth-most minutes on the team while on a team-friendly contract. It includes Sam Merrill, the very last pick in the 2020 draft who parlayed his shooting prowess into a $38 million extension. It features second-year Jaylon Tyson, who has transformed from a defensive project as the 20th overall pick in 2024 into a reliable rotation piece.
Jimmy Watkins notes on the podcast that these might seem like “small wins” to casual fans, but this is how championship contenders operate with limited flexibility.
“These are the lifeblood of contention windows, extending contention windows. These are the moves when you’re. When your roster construction avenues become constricted,” Watkins argues. “The smaller advantages become more important. And we’re going to get into the survey here. I think that’s part of the reason why other front offices think so highly of the Cavs because it’s one of the hardest things to do is to find a diamond in the rough that other people don’t see and turn them into a legitimate NBA rotation player.”
Only five teams ranked ahead of Cleveland: the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, which Fedor describes as “a general manager masterclass.”
The executive praise extends beyond just finding talent.
The Cavs have also shown remarkable acumen in player development, turning Ty Jerome from a journeyman into a Sixth Man of the Year candidate (before financial realities forced him elsewhere) and developing Jarrett Allen into a defensive cornerstone after acquiring him as a supplementary piece in the James Harden trade.
Perhaps most impressive is what Watkins calls the front office’s ability to “endure without draft picks.”
Despite shipping out significant draft capital to the Utah Jazz in the Donovan Mitchell trade, the Cavs have managed to field what many consider one of the NBA’s deepest rosters.
As Fedor notes, there are “13 guys that they could play on any given night, maybe 14. That’s a really, really good place to be.”
For frustrated fans, this executive validation offers a longer-term perspective. Even if this season falls short of expectations, the organization has the proven talent evaluation and development skills to adapt and evolve.
Curious to hear the full breakdown of how the Cavs’ front office stacks up against the league’s elite and which moves have most impressed rival executives? Check out the latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast with Chris Fedor, Jimmy Watkins, and Ethan Sands for the complete discussion.
Here’s the podcast for this week: