Koby Altman explained Friday he has faith All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell wants to be a member of the Cavaliers , but the president of basketball operations also acknowledged the organization must continue to improve to make Cleveland an attractive place to play for the foreseeable future.
In Altman's mind, the Cavs have taken important steps this offseason by re-signing guard Caris LeVert , acquiring forward Max Strus from the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade deal and signing forward Georges Niang ( Philadelphia 76ers ) and guard Ty Jerome ( Golden State Warriors ) in free agency.
Altman's thinking is the aforementioned newcomers will bolster the team's shooting and floor spacing to complement its so-called "core four" of Mitchell , center Jarrett Allen , point guard Darius Garland and forward Evan Mobley .
But will Mitchell , Allen, Garland and Mobley remain with the Cavs when the coming season begins in the fall?
"Yes, I intend that to be the case," Altman said via Zoom. "And, listen, I never make promises in case something were to miraculously happen, but all four know how important they are to this, and no conversations have happened. Outside of teams calling, doing their job, no conversations have happened substantial [enough] that we envision breaking up this core. It's a core that won 51 games last year and really has a lot more runway left. And I hope that's the case. I think we're going to continue to get better."
Mitchell became a basketball phenom growing up in New York, and his father is an MLB executive with the New York Mets . Playing for the New York Knicks would represent a full-circle journey for Mitchell, and he has admitted to thinking he would be dealt to the Big Apple before the Cavs acquired him in September through a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz .
For those reasons, there are questions about whether Mitchell will ultimately leave the Cavs for the Knicks, who eliminated Cleveland 4-1 in the first round of the NBA playoffs in late April. Mitchell is under contract with the Cavs for the next two seasons and has a $37 million player option for 2025-26.
How concerned is Altman about the possibility of Mitchell, 26, declining to sign a contract extension with the Cavs with the Knicks and other franchises lurking?
"All I can go off of is Donovan's actions and his intentions," Altman said. "He's with us in [Las] Vegas right now [for summer league]. He's super excited about the future. He'll be at the game [Friday night]. He's been in Cleveland multiple times this offseason already. He's worked out with guys. He's bringing guys with him wherever he is. All you can go off of are those actions and how genuine he talks about his experience in Cleveland.
"Look, he had the best year of his career in year one with us. I think he sees the runway of the players around him and the youth around him. So all I can go off of is his actions and his intentions, and they've been all really genuine. He also helped us out a lot during this free-agency period, so he wants this place to be great. He wants to win here. And in terms of the contract, we'll have those internal discussions and hopefully keep him.
"But, listen, we have to produce and perform as an organization, but I know he's really, really happy here, and he'll tell you that."
Altman said Cleveland was "the No. 1 destination" for Strus, Niang and Jerome.
Altman added Mitchell "spoke glowingly" about the Cavs while communicating with players who were available in free agency this offseason. Niang and Mitchell played together in Utah. Jerome and Mitchell were AAU teammates as kids in New York.
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"[Mitchell's] orbit is really large," Altman said. "We love it. He gives us honest feedback, and he's really, really helpful. So I couldn't be more happy with him as a person, just the human being, and having really informative conversations with him about how we should make and mold this team.
"He's also very realistic. He knows where we were in terms of our [salary] cap and what we realistically could do, and I think we were all, not just Donovan, thrilled with what we could achieve with very limited resources to add to this group. But I will say give [our returning] players the credit because guys want to come to Cleveland to play with them."
Keeping Mitchell long term would be an even sweeter development for Altman.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Key to Cavs keeping Donovan Mitchell will be 'produce and perform'
