CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers had a plan in place long before they acquired Donovan Mitchell in September.
But on the day Cleveland welcomed their newest acquisition, Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman shed some light on his expectations for the now four-time All-Star and the team’s growing expectations.
“This year isn’t a fight or a meltdown at all. We’re still a very young group and we’re getting experience,” Altman said during Cavs media day. “We’ve added a really big chunk, so it’s going to take some time. There will be failures there. This band is really excited to play with each other and I want to grow this stuff over the course of a few seasons before we start talking about it (a title).
His comments “It’s going to take time” and “I want to develop this thing over the course of a few seasons” ring strong as the 2023 NBA trade deadline is less than 36 hours away. This team has a plan and important decisions to make regarding the state of their roster.
Do they have the makings of a team that could make a playoff run, and if so, how far can they go? If not, what improvements or upgrades are in the market to bring them closer to their ultimate goals? If you asked Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff, he’d be happy if the front office and the Cavs met the deadline.
“To be honest with you, I’m happy with the squad we have,” Bickerstaff said in his pre-match availability Feb. 2. “I don’t think we’re desperate to go do something just for the sake of doing something. The guys in this locker room have enough to do it. … If we ride with this group, we have the chance to be a very good team and we have the chance to beat anyone.
Bickerstaff has a valid point. Why disrupt what the 34-22 Cavaliers currently have going for them? They have spent much of the season changing rosters due to injuries and finding the best adjustments. With a healthy rotation and time together, the Cavs are showing who they can be. Plus, there are many factors to consider here, including the Cavs’ salary cap situation, lack of first-round picks and an unfavorable market.
Here are the reasons Cleveland won’t — and, frankly, shouldn’t — make a move at the trade deadline.
According to Spotrac, the Cavs are over the maximum salary cap of $29.6 million and about $2.5 million below the luxury tax threshold. If the Cavs exceed the luxury tax, that starts the repeat offender tax countdown, which would go into effect shortly after a future maximum extension for Evan Mobley takes effect.
Cleveland is also limited in terms of first-round assets. Their 2023 first-round pick came from the Indiana Pacers as part of the acquisition of Caris LeVert last season. The Cavs have a first-round pick in 2024, but that pick can’t be moved until the night of next year’s NBA Draft. Their first remaining players through 2029 were included in the trade for Donovan Mitchell as absolute picks (2025, 2027, 2029) or draft trades (2026 and 2028).
Another looming question about the Cavs ahead of the trade deadline concerns the position of the wing. The Cavs experimented with LeVert, Lamar Stevens and Isaac Okoro as the starting three. However, Okoro recently gave the Cavs what they needed at the small forward level. Not only has he continued to face some of the best guards every night — like his recent matchup against the Pacers Tyrese Haliburton — but he’s also become a pretty consistent offensive threat.
His shots, for example, started falling. Okoro scored a season-high 20 points against the Pacers on Sunday night and continued to shoot his 3-pointer with confidence. He shot 47.6 percent from 3 in January through 16 games, and through three games in February, Okoro is shooting 71.4 percent from 3. His field goal percentage also continued to increase while throughout the season, as he shot 52.9% from the field in January.
“We all know what he does defensively and how he can be locked into a mission and slow down one of the best players in the league and not allow that guy to go down and how much that helps us defensively as a whole,” Bickerstaff recently said. “But offensively, he finds his places, he runs on the floor, he gets closer to the free throw line, he attacks the paint. I think he’s found stability and consistency in his game about how he can impact and help us.
Having Dean Wade healthy and back in the rotation has allowed the Cavs to see what Wade looks like when the three play alongside Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. It was a formation that intrigued Bickerstaff because Wade brings size and spacing to this formation. As a versatile defender, he can guard different players and help fill the floor defensively with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
LeVert’s move to the second unit allowed him to find his groove on the court as a goalscorer. In January, LeVert shot 42.8 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from 3. Bickerstaff also saw LeVert’s resilience throughout the season.
“Things haven’t always gone his way and things haven’t been easy or perfect for him,” Bickerstaff said recently. “But he never hid his tail, he never put his head down and had bad body language or upset his teammates or any of those things. He just kept working and trying to help the team.
But the biggest factor in all of this is that the Cavs added another star in Mitchell last September. Mitchell’s presence in the starting lineup and among his teammates had the effect Cleveland intended. He was the prolific scorer the Cavs needed next to Darius Garland, as well as another enabler and playmaker.
Mitchell has carried the Cavs to many wins this season thanks to his fourth-quarter takeovers. He’s averaging 26.8 points per game this season, shooting 47.3% from the field and 38.6% from 3, which are career highs for him.
The Cavs are fourth in the Eastern Conference after passing the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. The message Bickerstaff delivered to his team just a week ago had the desired effect. It reminded the Cavs of who they are, where they are and how far they’ve come this season.
“We know who our guys are, we know their character, we know what’s important to them, we know how good they can be,” Bickerstaff said last week. “People who want to tear them down have to look at themselves and understand how you can’t find the positive in this team. They are fun to watch. They play the game the right way. They compete in line. We are not perfect, but we are what a team should be.
Cleveland responded by winning three straight games, including a back-to-back road trip that marked their first game-winning road trip of the season. With the NBA trade deadline approaching, there’s no need to shake things up. This team finds its groove at the right time and the Cavs plan is working. Cleveland should stick to the deadline.
(Photo by JB Bickerstaff: Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
