The Cleveland Cavaliers are making a front office change, promoting Brandon Weems to general manager under president Koby Altman, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Weems has spent the past 10 years in the organization, moving up through scouting and personnel work before landing the assistant GM job in 2022. Now he takes the next step and becomes the GM.
The move comes with plenty of attention around the Cavs because of Weems’ connection to LeBron James. The two are very close friends, and that relationship had led many around the NBA to expect James might return to Cleveland this offseason. Instead, he stunned the league by signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Cleveland had been hoping James would come back and join Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. But the former Cavaliers star is now set to team with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in Philadelphia.
James also made clear that the 76ers will be his final stop. “This is my last decision,” LeBron wrote on social media.
“I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family.
What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice.
I still want to work. I still want to grind.
I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time. Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!”
As for Cleveland’s roster, the Cavaliers are set to open next season with Harden, Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Mobley and Allen. Watson was acquired from the Denver Nuggets after James signed with Philadelphia.
Mitchell, who arrived from the Utah Jazz in 2022, has been productive in Cleveland, averaging 26.7 points per game in the regular season and 27.3 points per game in the playoffs.
The big question now is whether that group can get the job done. If the Cavaliers come up short in the 2027 playoffs, it wouldn’t be a shock if Mitchell, Harden and Allen are no longer on the roster for 2027-28.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Could Soon Regret How Much Talent They Let Go
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De'Andre Hunter and Dennis Schroder are among the names to watch as they settle into new roles, while Darius Garland and Keon Ellis also factor into the broader discussion of what Cleveland gave up and what might still linger as a what-if. It is the kind of post-departure evaluation that can take time to fully settle, but if any of these players find a level elsewhere that Cleveland can no longer claim, the Cavaliers may end up looking back at this stretch a little differently. [Read more 🡒]
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DAZN will roll out several subscription options, giving fans different price points and feature sets, and local viewers will have some free games available as well as a free seven-day trial. For a fan base used to tuning in a certain way, the change brings both convenience and a few new decisions about how to watch, especially as the team shifts to a more modern streaming model. What remains to be seen is how smoothly that transition fits into the routines of the people who have followed the Cavs the same way for years. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Fans Suddenly Have A New Reason To Revisit Cam Whitmore
Cam Whitmore is back in the conversation for Cavs fans, even after Cleveland moved on from the former first-round pick earlier this summer. The Nuggets are trying to navigate an ugly financial picture, with a projected luxury tax hit that now sits at $68 million after they re-signed Spencer Jones, and their roster-building options have been tight enough that every marginal move has carried extra weight.
One of those moves was bringing Whitmore in on a two-way NBA deal, giving the wing another crack at sticking on an NBA roster as he heads into his fourth season. For Cleveland, it is another reminder of how quickly these low-cost flyers can come back into view, especially when a player they just waived lands in a situation where opportunity might be harder to come by but just as important. [Read more 🡒]