CLEVELAND — Nobody will say it directly, but the evidence at this point is clear: The Cleveland Cavaliers believe they had a coaching problem last year, not a roster issue.
We’ll know by February’s trade deadline if they are correct.
As the Cavs head to Florida this week to begin preparing for the new season, the only real change among the players from last season’s conference semifinal exit is the amount of money in their pockets.
The top 13 rotation players have all returned, many of them with new deals. Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro all received extensions. Tristan Thompson was invited back with another contract.
The only real addition to this team is first-round pick Jaylon Tyson, and the only pertinent figure from last year who wasn’t invited back was former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and most of his staff.
Kenny Atkinson is here with the primary purpose of maximizing Evan Mobley’s offensive potential, fixing the fit issues between the frontcourt and backcourt and, if both of those missions are successful, perhaps advancing deeper into the postseason.
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
To their credit, nobody within the franchise is running from any of it. Atkinson pointed to getting more out of Mobley when he was hired and doubled down on it on the eve of training camp.
“It starts with obviously Evan,” Atkinson said. “Just with his age, 23 years old, he’s just going to get better. … There’s going to be a natural improvement. So that’s a big one.”
Teams rarely return a fully assembled roster like this in the NBA.
After all of the summer extensions, Darius Garland, Mitchell, Allen, Mobley, Max Strus and Okoro are under contract together for at least the next three seasons — and in some instances even longer. Combine that with the two years most of this core has already spent together and the potential for five years of roster stability is equal to two lifetimes in this league.
It doesn’t guarantee there won’t be changes in the future. Even team president Koby Altman acknowledged the extra years on all of these extensions give the Cavs a little bit more leverage in future trade discussions.
For now, the Cavs are holding to the belief in their core.
It took the Boston Celtics seven years to win a championship with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, although it’s worth noting they didn’t win it until they made the difficult decision to part with Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis.
The Cavs are entering their third year with this nucleus in a loaded East. Time may be on their side.
“Long runways with really excellent players,” Altman said. “Great character, great work ethic. Guys that want to be in Cleveland.”
The Athletic reported in May after the Cavs were eliminated by Boston about the potential for Darius Garland’s representative to have a conversation with the Cavs about moving him out of Cleveland if Mitchell re-signed here. Mitchell indeed did re-sign and Garland denied wanting out during Monday’s media day availability. The Athletic stands behind all of the reporting.
Nevertheless, the question about fit between Garland and Mitchell has hovered. The Cavs navigated through all of it this summer and held firm to Garland, believing a healthy offseason of weight training and conditioning after he sustained a broken jaw last season and lost 15 pounds during the recovery, combined with Atkinson’s offensive philosophy, can return Garland to the All-Star he was in 2022.
The same is true for the frontcourt fit between Mobley and Allen, which is a bit trickier. Playing two non-shooting bigs together is incredibly difficult in this league. By bringing back both players on extensions, the Cavs made clear they believe a coach with a new approach to scoring can fix whatever issues remain.
“When you look at the top bigs in the league, a lot of good offensive teams play through their bigs now,” Atkinson said. “Especially with the five-out formation that’s dominated the league.”
For the Cavs to play five out, it will require Mobley to be on the perimeter and Allen to be on the bench. It also requires teams to at least respect Mobley as a 3-point threat.
The most important piece in all of this is Mitchell, who is relieved to no longer have to answer questions about his future and his contract. He is committed to Cleveland, insists he loves it here and even went keg bowling in the Muni Lot recently before a Browns home game.
The Cavs took an enormous risk in dealing for Mitchell. It could’ve been a disaster, but they knew they had two years to sell him on their culture and vision. It worked. The moment he signed the extension, it made it a home run. The Cavs won the trade. Full stop.
“When I got traded here, it’s no secret. I said I thought I was going to New York and I didn’t know much about Cleveland,” Mitchell said. “From the minute I got here, I told my mom, ‘I really like it here.’ Just the people. It’s very convenient to travel back and forth from where I live. Traffic is not that bad. The passion from the fans. The food is good. I’m a very simple person. I don’t need nothing too crazy and Cleveland has been amazing to me.”
The Cavs can always pivot in February and trade someone if this isn’t working. For now, Atkinson has the next 4 1/2 months to prove he is the fix to get all of this flowing again.
If they’re right, if Atkinson is the solution, the Cavs will be legitimate contenders in a stacked East for a number of years to come. Even if he can’t solve all of their problems, the extensions handed out over the summer give everyone involved a little bit of security and something rare in the NBA today.
Time.
(Photo of Kenny Atkinson: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
