Koby Altman: Cavs don’t believe major overhaul is needed

Getting swept out of the Eastern Conference finals wasn’t what the Cavaliers had in mind.

That doesn’t mean Koby Altman believes drastic changes are necessary.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Cavs president of basketball operations made it clear that while the organization is disappointed with how things ended, confidence in the current core remains high.

“We hated the way it ended,” Altman said. “We were disappointed with the way it ended. I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations.”

The Cavs reached the conference finals for the first time since 2018 before running into a red-hot Knicks team that breezed to a four-game sweep.

Even so, Altman suggested the focus is less on tearing things apart and more on figuring out how to take the next step.

“We believe in the players that we have in-house,” he said. “It’s been a long road to get here. It’s been five years of sustained success. We have to figure out how we break through it one more time, and that’s going to be the most difficult step.”

Altman acknowledged that offseason discussions are already underway regarding possible additions and roster tweaks.

At the same time, he stressed that Cleveland isn’t approaching the summer as a team searching for a complete reset.

“This is certainly not a place where we’re like, ‘We need to blow this up and start again,'” Altman said. “That’s certainly not where we’re at.”

Granted, the top basketball executive isn’t likely to come out and say, “We’re looking into trading some starters.” But we know Altman, and we know if there’s a deal to be made, he’ll pull the trigger.

So, yes, expect the Cavs to look for ways to improve. Just don’t expect them to abandon the foundation that got them this far.