Cleveland Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman showed confidence in the Cavs’ main core of players during a Friday media availability, according to a Friday tweet from Bally Sports Ohio sideline reporter Serena Winters.
“#Cavs POBO Koby Altman said he fully intends for Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to be on Cleveland’s roster when the season opens,” Right Down Euclid Editor-in-Chief Evan Dammarell wrote in a Friday tweet. “‘Teams will call and do their due diligence. But it’s a core that won 51 games last year.'”
The Cavs’ big four of guard Donovan Mitchell, guard Darius Garland, forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen played a total of just over 871 minutes together during the regular season, according to Basketball Reference. Mitchell would end the season with a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, joining Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler. Mobley was a finalist for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Cleveland earned a record of 51-31 during the 2022-23 season, putting them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and second place in the Central Division. It would be its highest win total since the 2016-17 season, when the Cavs made it to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row before falling to the Curry and Kevin Durant-led Warriors in five games. The Cavs would make it to a first-round matchup against the New York Knicks in 2023, but would ultimately lose the series in five games.
“There’s going to be a time where I figure it out and it’s coming,” Mitchell said in April, via ESPN Cavs beat reporter Danny Cunningham. “But if I’m not going to let this, and I don’t think any of us going to let this define us, define me and I’ll be better for it.
“We’ll be better for it.”