by According to Shams Charania and NBA.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers have extended President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman to a multi-year contract extension spanning 2029-30. Four front office executives also received extensions, including General Manager Mike Gansey, Assistant General Manager Brandon Weems, Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Counsel Jason Hillman, and Vice President of Basketball Operations and Personnel Jon Nichols.
Under Altman’s leadership, the Cavaliers have executed 28 total trades, including 15 in-season trades. Altman’s most notable trade was dealing young rebuilding pieces in Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Ochai Agbaji for the splash blockbuster acquisition of 5-time All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in the summer of 2022. Altman was then able to lock up the All-Star guard to a 3-year $150.3 million extension on July 2, 2024, through 2027-28.
Altman’s front office has also been instrumental in drafting stellar foundational pieces in the lottery, including All-Stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, forming a young championship contender in Cleveland, Ohio. His brilliance continued by securing long-term deals with both All-Stars, signing Darius Garland to a 5-year $193 million designated maximum rookie contract extension on July 2, 2022, and All-Star Evan Mobley to a 5-year $224 million maximum rookie extension on July 20, 2024.
During the 2024 offseason, Koby Altman was also able to acquire head coach Kenny Atkinson after his long, successful tenure as Assistant Coach under Steve Kerr in Golden State. The acquisition of Coach Atkinson was crucial in Cleveland making the next step, leading the Cavaliers this past year on a historical season, including posting the NBA’s second-best regular season record of 64-18 and securing the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Coach Kenny Atkinson would win the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award for the 2024-25 season.
Altman’s most recent in-season transaction was acquiring rising forward De’Andre Hunter in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks on February 6, 2025.
This 2025 offseason, Altman has been aggressive about going “all-in” on this current regime. He re-signed shooting guard Sam Merrill to a four-year $38 million deal and traded wing Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for point guard Lonzo Ball.
“Koby Altman has demonstrated that he is the right person to lead this franchise. He is not only an outstanding team-builder, but he has also created an exceptional culture that transcends the basketball side of our business and serves as a positive foundation and philosophy for the entire franchise,” Cavaliers Chairman and Owner Dan Gilbert stated. “Koby not only has a great nose for basketball talent, but he has also recruited and developed extraordinary front office talent. This unique combination has positioned our franchise to compete for championships for years to come. The decision to extend Koby and his team is not solely based on recent success, but rather the entire body of work since he took over the role in 2018” (NBA.com).
