Did Koby Altman do enough to warrant a promotion?

Koby Altman is your new Cleveland Cavaliers President of Basketball operations.

Koby Altman took over a team in 2017-2018 that was rife with chaos. Kyrie Irving wanted out, LeBron James wanted a major star added, but wouldn’t commit to extending his deal. With his future not being guaranteed, Altman, the team’s new GM, didn’t feel comfortable making major moves that affected their future.

So after Irving got traded, and they got a top draft pick back, Altman didn’t want to trade it. Instead, he wanted to keep it and get a good young player for the future. He coupled that by making massive trades to reshape the roster, got a few first-round picks, a few second-round picks, and even extended Kevin Love.

Over time, the roster took shape, the team got Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, and Evan Mobley, and now the Cavaliers are a top four-seed in the Eastern Conference. So flash forward to today when he got promoted to the be the President of Basketball Operations. With his promotion, assistant GM Mike Gansey will now be the new GM going forward.

The whole move was a bit shocking, to say the least. Did he really do enough to warrant such a promotion?

Koby Altman’s promotion is a bit premature but could be well deserved

Koby Altman’s promotion to the head of basketball operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers is premature. It just is. There’s no other way to cut it. In his four-plus seasons as Cavaliers GM, he’s had one winning season and three losing seasons. His fifth and current season is going much better, but the season’s not over and the team still has a quarter of the schedule to go.

Anything can happen still.

Plus, let’s say the Cavs show up in the playoffs, what about 2022-2023? We saw what happened with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. Will a fall-off happen to the Cavaliers? I certainly don’t think so, but it’s mathematically possible.

That said, it’s not a move that wouldn’t be very worth it in a year or two. If he puts together a good playoff run this year and next, then yes, his promotion will have been well deserved. We just can’t see the future though. We don’t know if he’s going to continue to make the right moves.

What happens with Cariv Levert and Collin Sexton will matter a lot. If they can provide the needed punch for the Cavaliers without hurting the team’s defense, or if they can be moved for adequate pieces, then Altman may surely go down as one of the best execs in Cleveland Sports history.

Giving Altman this promotion is like renewing a show for a second season before the first season has even aired. If it works, it’ll pay off huge. If it doesn’t, then the whole team may be feeling it for years to come.