Cavs: Koby Altman needs to show creativity in the 2020 NBA Draft

Koby Altman should be on the hot seat with his mismanagement of the Cavs, and nothing short but a creative draft will save him at this point.

The Cavs ex-GM David Griffin is fleecing teams left and right for one-time All-Stars who are arguably not even in the top 12 at their position. He’s been masterful in his trades, and it’s aggravating as hell to watch, knowing that the Cavs replaced Griffen with Koby Altman. Altman has really done very little to impress Cavs fans, and his two drafts so far have largely been questionable.

Sure Collin Sexton can score points on a garbage team, but his play doesn’t translate to wins. Then you have the three-headed hydra of “Huh?” with 2019’s Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., and Dylan Windler. Garland, the 5th overall pick,  was statistically the worst player in the NBA, Kevin Porter Jr is ~allegedly~ hitting women and carrying around firearms while driving recklessly, and Dylan Windler missed all of his rookie years due to injuries.

His trades haven’t been much better either. His first move saw him trade away Kyrie Irving for a draft pick that became Collin Sexton. Sure, the Cavs got other pieces, but they moved on from all of them so they don’t count. Then his second truly big move saw him move Brandon Knight and John Henson for Andre Drummond. Now, the Drummond deal was a steal but a steal for what? He’s expected to walk after 2020-2021, so what did it accomplish?

More than that, teams around the league are giving up huge pieces for next to nothing in return. The Portland Trailblazers gave up two first-round picks (TWO) for Robert Covington. Yet, there’s no trade market for Kevin Love? Is that possibly because Altman overpaid for him? Yeah, probably.

He’s not great at hiring personnel either, having run through three head coaches (Ty Lue, Larry Drew, John Beilein) and now is relying on his fourth, JB Bickerstaff, to finally get it right. All the while, Altman has made a mess of this roster, both rebuilding, and reloading at the same time. A decision that has done no one any good.

Constant rumors of Love being on the market, rumors of the Cavs taking another point guard in the draft, prospects getting arrested, and no salary cap space to work with. Altman has made a mess of things.

If he pooches the 2020 draft pick, then there will be people rightfully calling for his job. With teams like Portland and Milwaukee giving up huge assets in return for moderate players, there is no reason why the Cavs can’t swing a deal on draft day that doesn’t involve them giving up their fifth overall pick and still moving up. If Covington is worth two draft picks then a draft-day trade involving Drummond, Garland, and Porter Jr. for the Warriors No. 2 overall draft pick should work. Right?

Maybe not, but that package would be good enough to snag another prospect or two depending on where you offer it to. That or trade with a team to get an All-Star to pair with Drummond and Love.

With the expiring deals taken into consideration, the Cavs are $3 million under the cap for 2020-2021. If you pull off a deal that sends out Garland, Dante Exum, and either Cedi Osman or Larry Nance Jr., then you can bring back a high-end talent with a $30 million price tag. Who that would be is anyone’s guess, that’s simply what the numbers will allow for.

Either way, the Cavs need to make a move on draft day. It needs to be dynamic, out of the box and creative. Otherwise, Altman will have proven that he’s in over his head here in Cleveland. The Cavs were hoping for a fast rebuild after LeBron James left, but if Altman again passes on talent like Tyler Herro in favor of a Garland-type, then Altman has to go.

It may hinder the team’s rebuild but at that point, Altman would have already set the franchise back four years anyway, so what’s the difference?