Listing Koby Altman's top 5 franchise-altering decisions as part of Cavaliers' front office
Koby Altman may be viral right now for the wrong reason, but you can't discount that he turned the Cleveland Cavaliers into a championship team during his long tenure inside their front office.
The 2016 NBA championship was the biggest highlight of Altman's stay with Cleveland. But even though the team has long relinquished the title since, he still made great moves that kept them at least in playoff contention.
Let's list five of the Cleveland Cavaliers' best acquisitions with Koby Altman helping or leading the way.
Koby Altman's greatest achievements ranked
5. Signing Dwyane Wade...
During this time, the Cavaliers had to move on from Kyrie Irving, but they still wanted someone to help LeBron James and Kevin Love take back the championship they lost the previous season.
Wade signed with the Cavaliers after he reached a buyout with his hometown team the Chicago Bulls.
At first, though, Wade did not favor the idea of coming off the bench, but after a sluggish start to his season, he realized coach Tyronn Lue might be right in his suggestion and finally agreed to become a super sub.
4. ...And letting him go
However, eventually, the Dwyane Wade experiment somehow failed, and the Cavs suddenly dismantled their core as if they were rebuilding.
The difference, though, is that James and Love kept their roles as their two main men. Still, they had to let go of Wade, sending him back to the team where he won all his titles, the Miami Heat. In exchange, Cleveland acquired a protected 2024 second-round pick from Miami.
The Dwyane Wade trade was just one of the crazy moves Koby Altman made during Trade Deadline 2018.
Koby Altman also shipped Isaiah Thomas to the Los Angeles Lakers and a bunch of players including Derrick Rose and Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz.
Clarkson has since found a home in Utah, where he is now the starting shooting guard and second-top scorer behind Lauri Markkanen.
Meanwhile, the midseason overhaul actually benefitted the Cavs as they made the 2018 NBA Finals only to get swept by the Golden State Warriors.
3. The precedent that led to the Wade signing
It was noted above that the Cavaliers acquired Dwyane Wade following their decision to let go of Kyrie Irving.
Irving wanted to be the main man instead of being the Robin to LeBron James' Batman, so he wanted out of Cleveland.
Koby Altman's group granted Kyrie Irving's wish and traded him to Boston for Thomas, Ante Zizic and their 2020 second-round pick that came from the Heat.
The 2018 pick became Collin Sexton, who would become one of the Cavaliers' key players.
2. The Donovan Mitchell trade
However, Sexton was among the players traded to the Jazz for Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell instantly made an impact with the Cavaliers, even dropping 73 points in one game.
Mitchell now leads Cleveland's "Big 4" along with Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
1. Bringing in LeBron and K-Love
The best move of the Cavaliers with Koby Altman inside their front office was, of course, bringing back LeBron James.
Also acquiring Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Cavaliers had all the tools to break a 50-year championship curse in Cleveland.
The Cavs did so in style, rallying back from a 1-3 deficit to beat the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers would let James go to the Los Angeles Lakers, but unlike the aftermath of "The Decision" where he was painted as a villain in Cleveland, the city somehow accepted the decision. After all, James kept his promise of giving Cleveland an NBA title.