CLEVELAND, Ohio — Koby Altman can see his team’s future across the Cuyahoga River. The [Cavs](https://www.cleveland.com/cavs)’ future practice facility, located along the waterfront, may look like a construction site. But when Altman drives by, he sees a symbol of Cleveland‘s core values.
We’re talking patience and player development, not panic. And during Altman’s 48-minute chat with reporters on Monday, the Cavs’ top exec reiterated his stance on playoff overreactions.
Trade-machine pencils down. Cleveland won’t rush to make a change after last week’s playoff elimination against Indiana. Altman’s build toward the next Cavs banner is a slow burn, as evidenced by the blueprint blooming to life on the Collision Bend.
“... We’re like two months away from topping out of the most massive practice facility complex in the world,” Altman said Monday. “That is doubling, tripling down on culture, player experience, engagement, all of it. It’s growing rapidly. It’s incredible what’s going on down there, and that just shows you the strength and resilience (of this franchise). We’re not going to stop.
“We have the talent to do it, so this is going to be a long runway. And so it’s almost harder to have that patience. But you can have that patience when you have the talent that we have, the guys under contract that we have, and the ownership that we have.”
Altman’s vision sounds a lot like the 2024-25 Cavs: Great in theory.
But we learned over five games against the Pacers that theories get tested. And we’ve learned over the last three seasons that these Cavs don’t test well during the spring.
The prized “Core Four” consisting of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen now boasts the same number of Round 2 playoff wins (two) as embarrassing postseason exits in three seasons together.
Frustrated fans are tired of regular-season fool’s gold, followed by annual “toughness” conversations. And Cleveland‘s salary-cap situation paints two paths forward for the franchise:
Break up the core or double down on internal development.
Brief cap nerd addendum: The Cavs will likely enter next season over the NBA’s luxury tax _and_ over the dreaded “second apron” threshold. Instituted in 2023, the apron punishes big spenders by hindering free agency tools (only minimum salary additions allowed) and trade flexibility (player salaries must match exactly, no aggregating contracts).
If a team spends two of four seasons above that apron, its first-round pick will automatically be moved to 30th overall. If it spends three straight seasons over, it “freezes” its first-round pick seven years ahead of time (meaning it can’t be traded).
In other words, teams who spend big must be sure their roster is worth it. Because once they choose the expensive lifestyle, they can’t change their team without trading a key player.
Namely: How “wide open” (Altman’s phrasing) is the Cavs’ championship window, exactly? And how long is the team’s runway?
Let’s start logistically.
Cleveland is not close to winning a second straight loss during the _second_ _round_ of the playoffs. Eleven wins shy of a banner, the 64-win Cavs ended this year on equal footing with the Golden State Warriors, who qualified for postseason play via the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Cry bad injury luck all you like — Altman invoked Cleveland‘s “misfortune” on five occasions during his 48-minute press conference — but at least Cleveland‘s best player, unlike Golden State’s, appeared in every game this postseason. And as I wrote last week, the Cavs led for about 120 of 240 playoff minutes against the Pacers despite injuries to Garland, Mobley, De’Andre Hunter and Sam Merrill against Indiana.
Blown leads in Games 2 (20 points) and 5 (19 points) hurt the team more than any player’s ailment.
Altman’s counterpoint: The Cavs are young and still learning. Mobley (24 next month) and Garland (26 next January) have only played 25 and 22 playoff games, respectively. Increased experience can go a long way for both — particularly Mobley, whom Cleveland views as [a future superstar](https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2025/05/we-go-as-evan-mobley-goes-why-the-cavs-future-hangs-on-one-leap.html).
Altman likes comparing Cleveland to the Boston Celtics, who finally won a championship around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown last season after a seven-year wait.
They also traded for two-way guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday in the process, though. Adding center Kristaps Porzingis required trading Marcus Smart, a franchise staple. And it should be noted that Boston won its championship during the league’s first season under second-apron rules, meaning it didn’t confront the consequences until after they won.
(For the record: League whispers suggested the Celtics would cut costs this offseason regardless of their playoff result).
The Denver Nuggets, another Altman model of patience, traded veteran guard Gary Harris, then-rookie R.J. Hampton and a first-round pick for Aaron Gordon one year before their title run, which occurred pre-second apron rules.
They have since let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a starter on their championship team, leave due to financial concerns.
You can draw parallels between Denver’s Gordon trade and Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter acquisition. But it should be noted: Both Denver and Boston made conference finals runs before winning a ring. Same goes for 11 of the last 13 NBA champions.
I will ask again: How close is Cleveland to winning a championship, really?
_Don’t worry, they have time!_
Sure, as long as Donovan Mitchell, who has two guaranteed years left on his contract, sticks around and maintains star-level production. It won’t make sense for Mitchell to re-sign until after the final year of his deal (2026-27), which will double as his 10th year of service (Players can earn an increased share of the salary cap after 10 seasons).
Letting Mitchell play that last season without an extension would be a massive risk (he could walk the following summer). And if Mitchell does sign another max deal in Cleveland, he‘ll be paid like a superstar until he’s at least 35 years old.
Count me a Spida believer. But since 2000, only eight players his height (6-foot-3) or shorter have made an All-NBA team past age 30.
Maybe Mitchell is an outlier like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul or Steve Nash. Or maybe Mobley and Garland will be ready to uplift him by the time Mitchell is m All Star. But would you bet all your franchise’s flexibility on it?
Again, that’s assuming Mitchell stays, which assumes the Cavs can self-correct playoff woes. And you know what they say about assuming. It makes an ... overrated playoff team out of you and me.
The Cavs assumed their top-ranked regular-season offense would translate deep into the playoffs. But against Indiana, they scored 112.6 points per 100 possessions, which resembles the regular-season Miami Heat (112.4).
Cleveland’s top 10 regular-season defense ranked eighth out of eight playoff teams (116.7 points allowed per 100 possessions). And after three disappointing playoff runs, Altman still believes these issues to be self-correctable.
“I‘m not counting out a 28-year-old Donovan Mitchell, who showed the most efficient year of his career and is dying to get to that next level,” Altman said. “I’m not counting out 25-year-old Darius Garland. I’m not counting out a 23-year-old Evan Mobley.”
Me neither. But I’m also not overlooking three years of playoff pumpkin-ing, even after a Cinderella regular season. I’m not assuming two 20-somethings will evolve at the pace this team requires. And as a result, I’m not sure the Cavs’ contention window is open as wide, or will remain open as long, as their president believes.
When does that swanky practice facility open again? 2027? A lot can change in two NBA years, especially given the new punitive cap environment. Champions are already reaping its punishment. But Altman believes his Cavs are better positioned.
Just wait and see. No rush from the boss’ crystal ball.
“... We’re just starting,” Altman said. “And believe me, I think we are so much more in the beginning of the story than the end of the story, even in year three. That’s the beginning of a core that’s shaping themselves that’s had tremendous regular season success and that’s going to realize this is what we have to do to get to that next level.”