The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to make some difficult decisions this offseason about who to keep, who to trade, and what to do with a roster that works in the regular season but is still unproven in the playoffs.
Koby Altman had his end of season presser on Monday and the crew reacts to what Koby had to say.
Plus, it's fake trade season but most of these deals solve one issue and create 10 more.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' season officially ended following the conclusion of their Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the second round. After an admirable campaign in which they won 64 games to secure the first seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs flamed out in the playoffs yet again, getting eliminated before the conference finals for the third year in a row.
It's not as if Cleveland doesn't have valid excuses for their postseason shortcomings this year. They had arguably the worst injury luck of any team in the playoffs — aside from maybe the Golden State Warriors. Against Indiana, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, De'Andre Hunter, and Evan Mobley all missed time with various ailments. Considering that every year of the Spida era has ended with a heartbreaking early playoff exit, it's only natural that fans and pundits are now questioning this core's ability to seriously contend for a title, even when fully healthy.
Throw in the fact that several stars switched teams this past season and a few more are expected to be on the trading block this summer, and it only makes sense for the Cavs to do some shopping this offseason. One of the biggest fish expected to be potentially available is Giannis Antetokounmpo, after his 34-year-old co-star Damian Lillard ruptured his Achilles and his Milwaukee Bucks lost in the first round for the third consecutive year.
Cleveland, like every other team in the league, should be highly interested if there's any chance they could acquire the Greek Freak while maintaining a competitive roster after trading for him. Apparently, at least one analyst thinks that parting ways with Evan Mobley would be too costly a price to pay for Antetokounmpo.