INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Koby Altman would have loved for LeBron James to return for a third stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When the most popular player in franchise history decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers after eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavaliers' president of basketball operations wasn't fazed.
“We can’t be reliant on one outcome. I think we have too much of a good thing going in terms of our infrastructure, our foundation to worry about one outcome,” Altman said at a news conference Friday before the Cavaliers begin training camp next week. “I’m not downplaying the enormity and magnitude of the decision. I just think the way we’re built as an organization is we have a great foundation and a great sort of ecosystem in terms of talent, coaching staff, our performance staff and we’re built for a sustainable run here regardless of one outcome.”
James' agent, Rich Paul, said on his podcast in July that the Cavaliers were the only team to meet with James, while Miami and Golden State were the other finalists.
Altman has been able to build a contending roster since James' second departure in 2018 after he led the Cavs to four straight trips to the NBA Finals and the franchise's first championship in 2016.
Cleveland has won at least 50 games the past two years and reached the Eastern Conference finals last season for the first time since 2018. They were swept in four games by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks.
The Cavs quickly pivoted after James' decision and addressed their need for a wing player, acquiring Peyton Watson in a five-team trade and signing him to a four-year, $88 million contract. On the first day of free agency, Donovan Mitchell signed a four-year, $273 million contract extension.
James Harden — who was acquired near the trade deadline — signed a three-year, $97 million extension that gave the Cavaliers some flexibility under the salary cap by going below both aprons.
“You go through the list and zoom out and say, ‘OK, was this offseason a success? Were we able to get better? Did we look at the future? Did we get more financial flexibility, more sustainability with the roster?’ All of those things lead me to say this was a really good offseason in spite of that one decision,” Altman said.
While the 37-year-old Harden and 30-year-old Mitchell are the team leaders, the 24-year-old Watson gives the Cavs another young player who can mesh with Evan Mobley (25), Jarrett Allen (28) and Jaylon Tyson (23).
Watson started a career-high 40 games last season with the Denver Nuggets and averaged career bests in points (14.6), rebounds (4.9) and assists (2.1).
“What I’ve been seeing in the gym is the defense, first of all. And then he shot 41% from 3 last year. It’s a one-year sample, but there’s a lot of room for growth in his offensive game, especially the way we play,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson also lauded Harden for arriving three weeks before the start of training camp and helping to organize workouts.
Even though the Cavaliers were one of the final four teams left standing in the postseason, they haven't attracted much attention this offseason. The Knicks' title defense, Jaylen Brown and James heading to Philadelphia, Giannis Antetokounmpo's trade to Miami and Indiana getting healthier with the return of Tyrese Haliburton have left Cleveland under the radar.
Altman doesn't think the Cavs are being slighted.
“I’d be more worried if I was worried about talent, our process or some of the more day-to-day things,” he said. “I think a lot of teams got better to chase us. When you’re a final four team, teams need to improve to get to that level. And we’re on that level. We want more.”
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