The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2023 offseason with plenty of disappointment after being eliminated in five games by the New York Knicks, but the organization was also determined to make some adjustments. While the Cavs did not make the biggest splash in free agency or on the trade market, they actively tried to address their most glaring needs.
The front office’s moves thoroughly impressed longtime NBA reporter David Aldridge, who handed out big praise for Cleveland in his offseason rankings for The Athletic.
“Quality work by {president of basketball operations} Koby Altman and crew, zeroing in on exactly what plagued their team in its first-round loss to New York — horrendous shooting (32.7 percent) from deep — and adding two quality marksmen in {Max} Strus and {Georges} Niang at very decent market values,” he wrote. “Yes, Cleveland’s frontcourt got bludgeoned on the glass by the Knicks. But good on the Cavs as well for not having a recency bias reaction to Jarrett Allen’s poor series.”
Aldridge is clearly of the belief that the Cavaliers did not need to add an All-Star caliber player and instead benefited more by bolstering the bench and role players. Evan Mobley is getting better and could bloom into full stardom next season. Jarrett Allen has probably not stopped thinking about how Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson pushed him around in the playoffs. That frustration can be used as fuel.
One can also not just gloss over one of the NBA’s most dangerous backourts in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Extending Caris LeVert ensures that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff can maintain crucial balance and offensive versatility on his rotation. Though, it was the team’s sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat that most impressed David Aldridge.
“Strus in particular should provide player movement regardless of how well he’s shooting, a necessity in a half-court offense that bogged down into awful possessions against New York, leaving Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland to try and create against a walled-up defense.”
The 27-year-old also has valuable postseason experience and is a career 37 percent shooter from 3-point range. All of Altman’s maneuvering this summer earns the Cavs a coveted No. 2 spot on Aldridge’s list, behind only the San Antonio Spurs for best offseason in the NBA. The franchise may not have selected a potential phenom, but filling out a highly-talented roster is a nice consolation prize that could pay major dividends in 2024.