CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two straight second-round exits in five games. It’s not just disappointing — it’s unacceptable for a Cavaliers organization paying luxury tax prices for championship aspirations.
The latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast delivered an honest assessment of Cleveland’s playoff shortcomings and the roster shake-up that now seems inevitable.
Jimmy Watkins framed the situation perfectly: “If Minnesota needs to take a hard look at their roster after two straight Western Conference finals appearances, what does that say about the Cavs after two straight five game losses in the second round of the Eastern Conference?”
The pressure is mounting from the top down.
Chris Fedor revealed that Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has directly acknowledged the playoff problem: “It can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16 \[games\]. We have to figure out how to get over the hump”
That is the difference between regular-season juggernauts and championship teams – surviving four playoff rounds.
Even more concerning for the Cavs, who are coming off a 64-win regular season but just five wins in the playoffs, is the financial reality.
Fedor explained the ownership perspective: “Dan Gilbert is putting everybody in this organization up to the mirror and saying to himself, if we’re going to be a second apron team and I’m going to cut a huge luxury tax check, like, I better have a team here that I believe can win a championship.”
Gilbert’s willingness to spend comes with championship expectations. When you’re paying premium prices, you expect premium results – not embarrassing five-game exits to the Pacers.
“There’s a real possibility that you could convince yourself that you could become a better basketball team without Jarrett Allen,” Fedor stated. “There’s a real possibility that you could convince yourself, based on the offers that you’re getting or the packages that you believe are available to you, that you could become a better basketball team without Darius. That’s not overreacting.”
The podcast explored several potential trade frameworks, including deals with Minnesota, New Orleans, and Brooklyn. Names like Trey Murphy III, Jaden McDaniels, and Cam Johnson were discussed as potential targets who could provide the Cavaliers with what they’ve been missing in the playoffs.
One thing is clear – the status quo isn’t an option. As Max Strus said in his end-of-season wrap-up, “You’re never going to have the same team again. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the offseason. You might lose guys. Your locker room could look different the next year. I mean, that’s just the moral of the story in the NBA and the realness of it.”
For Cavaliers fans, this offseason could bring the most significant changes since Donovan Mitchell’s acquisition.
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._