The Association crew talks about what they were most impressed by in the Knicks sweep over the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) \u2014 Koby Altman\u2019s midseason trade for James Harden<\/a> was supposed to be the move that got the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals<\/a> for the first time since 2018.<\/p>\n After the New York Knicks dominated in their four-game sweep<\/a> of the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals<\/a>, Harden\u2019s return is just one of many questions at the top of the roster Altman and the front office will need to figure out over the next month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not in the conference finals without James. We\u2019re in the second apron (of the salary cap) as of right now and we need to figure out what pieces we can bring back. The CBA puts that if you have a really good deep roster, you have to make difficult decisions,\u201d Altman, the Cavaliers\u2019 president of basketball operations, said on Friday.<\/p>\n Cleveland will need to make pivotal decisions on three of its four core players this offseason. The first is Harden, who has a $42.3 million player option for next season. He could decline to re-sign with the Cavs for multiple years.<\/p>\n The 36-year-old Harden averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 turnovers for the Cavaliers in 26 regular-season games. He averaged 19.7 points in the postseason, but his turnovers also went up to 4.7 per game, including five or more in 10 of Cleveland\u2019s 18 games. He also struggled on defense.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people need to take a step back and realize we didn\u2019t trade for MVP James Harden, we traded for James Harden at the end of his career that has transformed himself to becoming one of the best point guards in the league,\u201d Altman said. \u201cWe were kind of shaky there in terms of our belief and when he came on board, he gave us a real belief in swagger.\u201d<\/p>\n Altman and owner Dan Gilbert also need to decide when to offer All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell an extension and if forward Evan Mobley is one of the franchise\u2019s cornerstones moving forward.<\/p>\n Mitchell has two seasons remaining on his contract. The Cavaliers can offer a four-year, $272 million extension beginning on July 7, or Mitchell could wait until next year, when he would be eligible for the five-year supermax contract worth $350 million.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old Mitchell averaged 27.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds during the regular season. He averaged 26 points in the playoffs and had six games where he scored at least 30.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we have a superstar of his caliber that wants to be in Cleveland, that\u2019s our best ambassador, that\u2019s our best recruiter. There\u2019s guys that are here that wouldn\u2019t be here without him, quite frankly,\u201d Altman said. \u201cSo I think the bigger question is, the one that\u2019s been answered is, does he want be here and does he want to be here long term? And I think he\u2019s answered that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Check out Donovan Mitchell’s best plays this season after he was named a reserve for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Mobley\u2019s future depends on if the Cavaliers want to go all-in on acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 All-Star forward is likely to be dealt this summer with speculation on Mobley being part of a package.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to speculate on any players outside of these walls. All I can tell you is since Evan\u2019s been here, we\u2019ve had the third-best record in the league,\u201d Altman said. \u201cHe\u2019s been remarkable for us in terms of our ascent the last five years. He\u2019s a huge part of what we do. He knows he needs to get better. When we sat down and talked to him, we talked about the intangible stuff and I even saw the skillset stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n