Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman doesn't want to mess with a good thing. And no team in basketball has a better thing going right now than the Cavs , winners of 15 of their last 16 games.
So when the NBA's trade deadline passed Thursday afternoon, the Cavs, who have surged into position for the No. 2 seed in the East , stood pat.
It's a story similar to last year's trade deadline, but this one comes with a much different backstory, and the Cavs are in a much different situation this time around.
After last year's loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, the Cavs went to work to address roster issues over the summer. Those additions — Max Strus and Georges Niang — along with the internal development of several players in the rotation — Isaac Okoro , Sam Merrill and Dean Wade — helped the Cavs piece together the roster as they envisioned.
And now with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley back in the starting lineup, and the Cavs the hottest team in the league, a franchise-altering move wasn't in the cards. The Cavs don't feel the work is done, of course. But the building of the foundation occurred over the summer.
"I think for us, the bulk of the work was done in the offseason," Altman said via a Zoom call Thursday. "You know me, I'm very active and do a lot of volume [of due diligence], but sometimes you don't want to mess up a good thing."
It's also a nod to the Cavs being in the "present" of what has been a years-long rebuilding after LeBron James left Cleveland for the second time. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff guided the Cavs into the status of a fringe contender. The Donovan Mitchell trade elevated them further in the East's pecking order. They hoped the continued internal development of Evan Mobley would be another big step forward. Then add in Strus and Co., and the Cavs have been in construction mode for quite some time.
Now they feel they have the right mix in the locker room to contend with the East's elite. It doesn't mean complacency in terms of internal improvement, Altman noted. But the Cavs are riding this hot streak and seeing where this roster takes them.
After all, they haven't just won 15 of their last 16 games; they've won those 15 games by an average of more than 18 points. This wasn't the time for a major shakeup, especially when the Cavs already have a deep rotation with internal options they'd like to keep developing.
"I think me and my front office, we were pretty steadfast and watching the Cavs play last night and just enjoying this group and I [thought], let's be in the present now," Altman said. "I mean, this is an exciting basketball team. This is a core group that's 28 years or younger that's set up for success for a long time. And they're getting better."
The Cavs are already rolling with a 10-man rotation anyway, which can be a difficult number to balance in terms of playing time and rhythm. After Mitchell, Garland , Mobley , Strus and Jarrett Allen in the starting lineup, the Cavs have a second unit of Caris LeVert , Niang, Okoro, Wade and Sam Merrill seeing regular time off the bench.
That still leaves Craig Porter Jr. and Tristan Thompson , when he returns from his suspension, as options, but the rotation can't be stretched any further.
That was another factor in the Cavs not bringing anyone in for the stretch run to the playoffs. And it's part of why the Cavs didn't end up coming too close to making a move.
"I would say there's a few things [we] could [have done]," Altman said. "I don't think we were close to doing anything philosophically at all."
Altman, of course, knows the Cavs will be graded in April (and if they grade well, May and June). The bad taste left over from the loss to the Knicks has remained. The only way for some mouthwash is for the franchise to win its first playoff series without James in three decades.
"When we did acquire Donovan, we wanted to make sure of setting expectations, that it wasn't championship or bust, certainly not last year — and it's not this year, either," Altman said, speaking to the Cavs' longterm plan of contention. "But we do think we have the talent level to compete with the best.
"… Obviously playoff experience is something that we need to add to this group and go further past the first round, or rounds, in the playoffs."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NBA trade deadline 2024: Cleveland Cavaliers make no moves, stand pat
