NBA Analyst Gives Cavs ‘B’ Grade For Offseason

July 25, 2024

The Cavaliers are one of just three NBA teams not to sign a free agent or make any roster additions beyond a draft pick this offseason (the others are the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics).

Still, their summer is going just fine, according to NBA analyst Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

Beyond hiring Kenny Atkinson as coach and selecting guard/forward Jaylon Tyson with the No. 20 overall pick, the Cavs signed star guard Donovan Mitchell and power forward Evan Mobley to contract extensions. Those are big wins — especially the Mitchell deal.

They still have to resolve the situation with wing Isaac Okoro, a restricted free agent. Other than that, though, it’s been fairly quiet in Cleveland.

Nonetheless, Pelton gave the Cavs a “B” in his list of team-by-team report cards.

“It’s surprising that Cleveland’s only roster addition so far is No. 20 pick Jaylon Tyson. The Cavaliers are banking on new coach Kenny Atkinson to get out of the same group of talent — understandable given how well they played in the 2022-23 season,” Pelton wrote.

“More importantly, Cleveland ensured core continuity by signing All-Star Donovan Mitchell to an extension that keeps him under contract through a player option in 2027-28 — enough to claim a successful offseason. The Cavs’ other extension, a rookie max deal for Evan Mobley, is betting on Mobley’s ability to develop as a perimeter threat.”

Pelton is right. The entire reason Atkinson was hired was to get a fairly talented squad to play at its best as a unit, and to help Mobley take his offensive game to another level. Defensively, the Cavs were among the league’s best. All Atkinson and his coaching staff need to do is keep a good thing going on that end.

So a “B” grade? Why not? One thing you don’t want to do is mess up a team that didn’t play its best, yet still reached the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to the eventual NBA champions. So president of basketball operations Koby Altman has, for now, opted to stay the course and give it another run.

Hard to argue with that decision. After all, you have until February to make a trade.