CLEVELAND, Ohio, - The sting of playoff elimination often triggers emotional reactions, but for the Cavs, the path forward requires precision rather than wholesale reconstruction, Terry Pluto said on this week’s Terry’s Talkin’ podcast.
As the dust settles on their five-game loss to the Indiana Pacers, the organization faces crucial decisions about a talented but flawed roster.
“This is not, you know, blow up the, ‘Blow up the team, eat dirt and die,’ none of that stuff,” Terry Pluto emphasized on the podcast.
“It’s still a team with guys in their middle to late 20s under contract. This, you know, you drop this team into about 22 or 24 other NBA cities, they would be glad to trade you their roster for this roster.”
That roster perspective matters, but so does an honest assessment of what worked and what didn’t in the playoffs. The inconsistent play of Jarrett Allen emerged as a particular concern after his presence vanished in crucial moments.
Allen himself seemed to recognize the issue. “Jared Allen today, they had their kind of clean-out-your-locker interview day, and I think he admitted pretty much that he wasn’t consistent enough,” podcast host David Campbell noted.
Pluto said that Evan Mobley’s performance offered a silver lining.
“Mobley, I have some people criticizing him. I don’t have a problem with how he played,” Pluto said. “34 minutes, 18 points, 10 rebounds, shooting 58%. That’s a winning performance in the playoffs.”
The Cavs enter the offseason with significant advantages compared to many eliminated teams. Unlike franchises facing wholesale free-agent departures, Cleveland has its core under contract.
“Other than Ty Jerome, you don’t have anybody significant who’s a free agent,” Pluto said. “Therefore you have guys actually who have trade value. You know, if you want to trade Jarett Allen, you can get quite a bit for him... You want to trade De’Andre Hunter, you can get quite a bit for him.”
While the backcourt pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland appears to need change, Pluto said, the organization can make moves from a position of relative strength rather than desperation.
The most significant decision likely revolves around Garland’s future.
As a big-contract player with clear playoff limitations, the Cavs must confront whether he fits alongside Mitchell long-term.
“The backcourt, I think, was exposed by Indiana because they had trouble getting the ball up the court,” Pluto said.
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