Open Thread: 2020-21 NBA Playoffs, Bonus: Koby Altman speaks

Hello again CtB!

As a bonus to the playoff open thread, here’s a quick recap/analysis of Koby Altman’s lengthy end of season press conference. Let’s dive into the takeaways…

Altman puts lipstick on a pig of a season

The most striking overall impression of the Altman presser was his overwhelmingly positive spin to a terrible 22-50 season that included the loss of the Cavs’ most talented prospect Kevin Porter Jr., and the inability for Altman to successfully handle two of the grizzled veterans on the team, Andre Drummond and Kevin Love. Altman’s optimism was frankly borderline nauseating and patronizing. The reason for such a characterization is because it left the impression of a lack of accountability for the team’s poor performance this year, as well as over the past three years. His optimism also failed to address the fact that they fell short of their own expectations they declared at the beginning of the year, to be in playoff contention. Altman was careful not to declare the season “a success” but was quick with the excuses of injuries and youth for the lack of success. While injuries and youth are reasons why the team didn’t win, there was absolutely no talk of how the organization will be held accountable in the future. Altman simply declared that fans should “be excited” for the future of the team.

Altman hitches his wagon (rightly) to Darius Garland and defends Kevin Love

Altman was effusive in his praise of DG’s play this season, calling DG’s highlights literally “holy shit” moments. DG’s name was repeatedly brought up by Altman, which clearly gave the impression that DG is the current centerpiece of the rebuild. It’s safe to say that Altman’s love for DG served as a complete rebuke of a midseason report by Sam Amico that suggested the Cavs weren’t interested in retaining DG beyond the rookie contract.

Altman also deserves full credit for defending Love against the multitudes of fans calling for a buyout or half-baked trades to get rid of the NBA champion and one of the best players in Cavs’ history. Altman noted that DG was statistically one of the biggest beneficiaries of Love’s presence on the court in the second half of the season. Also Altman shared that Love wasn’t healthy and returned too soon from his calf injury, and discussed improvements to be made regarding how the Cavs think about load management in the future once the NBA schedule normalizes. One of the most interesting comments from Altman regarding Love was about the offseason plan they have in place to return Love to 100% health, including the phrase “weight training.” Hopefully this portends to Love putting on some weight/strength to withstand more minutes in the low post where Love was so dominant in Minnesota.

Altman wants to keep Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen (but at what cost?)

Altman was clear to imply that they will re-sign Allen once they are able to talk to him, noting that they gave up a first round draft asset to secure his services. Altman also made it known that he’d like to keep Sexton long term. The interesting part of the Sexton and Allen discussion was the measured response from Altman. There were no sweeping declarations that Allen and Sexton are “franchise cornerstones” that would imply a forthcoming max contract extension. Altman played it straight up, saying that he will speak to their agents and negotiate when the time was appropriate.

Altman is looking for “supplemental” vets and “length and athleticism” in the draft

In a question about rebuilding, Altman said that he’s studied the rebuilds of the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks, noting that both organizations made savvy moves to sign veterans that would help grow their young talent. He’s hoping to do the same thing for the Cavs this year, although he felt that getting Love, Larry Nance Jr., and Taurean Prince would obviously help getting a veteran presence on the court. The most disappointing aspect of Altman’s response to the roster is refusing to acknowledge the dearth of playmaking on the roster. Classifying Young Bull as a dynamic playmaker flies in the face of reality (15.5 assist ratio, NBA average 18.0).

Altman also mentioned that he’s looking to add “length and athleticism” to the roster through the draft. Altman unfortunately is still married to the idea of Sexland being a championship-level tandem. One might also infer that there’s a lack of interest on Altman’s part regarding the talents of guards such as Jalen Suggs or Jalen Green, the former of which would be a serious mistake. But with the offseason still in its infancy, withholding judgment is the appropriate response. But on a talent starved team such as the Cavs, it doesn’t augur well that Altman appears to be pigeon-holing himself into Sexland and/or looking exclusively at wings or bigs.

Shoutout to Kenny Roda

Kenny Roda of 1480 WHBC deserves a shoutout in particular for doing his job and asking the questions that hold Koby Altman accountable for his tenure. Roda’s questions were excellent, seeking the answers that Cleveland Cavalier fans demand. Roda made it worthwhile to check out the hour long press conference, so tip of the cap to Mr. Roda.