Cleveland Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman shared his thoughts on the Cavs’ series against the New York Knicks during a media session on Friday.
“We didn’t play our best,” Altman said, via Right Down Euclid Editor-in-Chief Evan Dammarell. “I think the players said that they didn’t play up to our standards.
“But, a lot of it was unknown.”
Koby Altman said there wouldn’t be any sweeping changes or overreactions to the Cavs’ first-round loss to the Knicks, according to Dammarell. The former Cavs Director of Pro Player Personnel said none of the outside noise about Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff never came from him.
“It’s clear that Bickerstaff is Cleveland’s coach going forward,” wrote Dammarell.
The Cavaliers finished the regular season with 51 wins and the No. 1-rated defensive rating before they faced the Knicks in the NBA playoffs. Center Jarrett Allen followed up performances of 14 and 10 rebounds in Games 1 and 2 with a combined total of 13 rebounds throughout the next three matchups.
On Friday, Koby Altman endorsed the 25-year-old center, saying he was an essential piece to the Cavaliers’ roster.
“Jarrett is a really important piece for us and we’re really proud of him,” said Altman, via Dammarell. “We’re not here without him.”
Koby Altman emphasized spacing and shooting on what Cleveland is looking at this offseason. The Cavaliers ended their 2022-23 campaign with a 36.7% clip from the perimeter in the regular season and 32.7% in the playoffs, while the bench averaged the 28th most points per game in the NBA last season, according to NBA.com.
Cleveland managed to stay just below the luxury tax as it assembled its roster during the 2022-23 season. It just above $1 million in luxury tax space despite having larger contracts from Allen, guard Caris LeVert and guard Donovan Mitchell.
Koby Altman said Cleveland wasn’t afraid to enter the luxury tax threshold on Friday.
“We’re not scared to go into the tax,” said Altman, via ESPN Cavs reporter Danny Cunningham.