Since buying the Cavaliers in 2005, Dan Gilbert had never given a general manager a second deal. Jim Paxson, Danny Ferry and Chris Grant came and went. Even David Griffin, who built the 2016 championship supporting cast around LeBron James, left when his contract expired.
But Koby Altman will break the trend.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has agreed to a long-term contract extension, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 1, 2019
Altman’s signature move was trading Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for a return that aged poorly but Gilbert still defended. Altman was also responsible for much of LeBron’s awful 2018 supporting cast.
Since LeBron left, Altman has generally taken the Cavs in the right direction – acquiring extra draft picks for taking bad contracts. Drafting point guard Darius Garland one year after after drafting point guard Collin Sexton was a gutsy move not every executive would’ve made. Giving Kevin Love a contract extension was more questionable, but at least understandable.
An encouraging aspect of this move: If he’s back to business like extending Altman, Gilbert is seemingly progressing in his recovery from his stroke.
