Cleveland Cavaliers: Blaming Koby Altman For Team Issues Isn’t Fair
Cleveland Cavaliers fans can’t blame Koby Altman for all the team’s issues. It’s the easy thing to do considering he’s the GM. The blame can’t solely lie on him. All things considered, Altman has done a pretty good job with this roster. Why a certain portion of fans can’t see that is frustrating.
The elephant in the room is Kevin Porter Jr.
Altman will be defined by this (assuming KPJ continues to thrive in Houston). That’s an unfair assessment on him, though. Everyone wants to bash Altman for dealing Porter away for just a 2nd round pick. Whatever everyone seems to forget is 29 other teams opted to let him pass by in the 1st round because of character issues.
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Altman, who’s shown an eye for talent (more on that later), didn’t let that affect him and made a trade to acquire Porter, an obvious top-10 talent, at the end of the first round in 2019. A year later, KPJ’s character issues come back to haunt him, causing friction with the team. Fans really expected any team to deal more than a 2nd round pick for him? Mind you every GM had already passed him by in the draft. Who’s going to give a high pick away with his red flags?
The issues with Porter aren’t the only things fans have taken issue with. The Kevin Love contract, Kyrie Irving trade, J.R. Smith saga, hiring of John Beilein, Andre Drummond buyout, all these instances have been placed on Altman. But, have we ever considered Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert, as the one pulling the strings? He’s more involved than he needs to be. This caused the last general manager, David Griffin’s depart.
We obviously don’t know the structure of the Cavs front office. All I’m saying, placing blame on Altman for what could be a power struggle between him and Gilbert needs to be considered. When discussing Altman we need to recall how efficient he has been finding talent for the Cavs.
*Colin Sexton (1st rnd pick)
*Darius Garland (1st rnd pick)
*KPJ (traded to get him in the 1st)
*Andre Drummond (traded a 2nd for him)
*Jarrett Allen (traded virtually nothing to acquire him)
*Taurean Prince (traded virtually nothing to acquire him)
*Lamar Stevens ( UDFA)
*Dean Wade (UDFA)
*Isaiah Hartenstein (2nd rnd pick)
*Issac Okoro (1st rnd pick)
*Dylan Windler (1st rnd pick)
Looking at these names, the only real blunders have been Drummond, Porter Jr., and Windler. Drummond might have been a misfire but he only traded a 2nd round pick to acquire him. KPJ, give him credit for getting him when nobody else wanted to. Windler has been an injury risk since his being drafted. Outside of those three, these are some great acquisitions for a GM.
The Cavs haven’t had a top pick in any of Altman’s tenure. The guys he’s drafting and finding aren’t sure things. It’s one thing if he’s getting no-brainer picks like Zion, Morant or LaMelo Ball. However, Altman isn’t getting those chances. He’s selecting the consolation prizes in these drafts. Not only that, he finds players like Stevens and Wade as undrafted free agents.
Let me make this clear. Koby Altman isn’t the issue in Cleveland. Is he the best general manager in basketball? No
Yet, for what he’s been able to accomplish with a small market team, who have been an example in mediocrity without LeBron, Altman hasn’t been as bad as many make him out to be.
Image Source: AP/Phil Long
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
