The Cavaliers have spent the last four years operating like a team built to win now, but that run now looks finished. Since the Donovan Mitchell trade in 2022, Cleveland has lived in the championship conversation. That period, though, is starting to feel like a closed chapter.
When the Cavs made the move for Mitchell, they saw the opening in the East. Koby Altman had positioned the roster to take advantage of what looked like a clear lane, building a young core on rookie deals in a way that echoed the model Sam Presti assembled in Oklahoma City.
The idea was sound. The execution never quite caught up.
As the new CBA took hold, the Eastern Conference became less competitive, but Cleveland still couldn’t find the formula that would separate it from the pack. Even after Boston won the 2024 championship, the East seemed to loosen up immediately. The Celtics were dealing with health issues, their depth had been stripped away, and there was no longer a dominant team sitting at the top of the conference.
The Cavaliers responded by making a big coaching change, deciding JB Bickerstaff was no longer the answer and bringing in Kenny Atkinson with the belief he could be the one to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Cleveland. Atkinson delivered a 64-win season in 2024/25 and broke several regular-season win records.
By record and by results, it looked like Cleveland’s best shot yet. If the Indiana Pacers hadn’t been the hottest team in basketball, the Cavs might have pushed all the way through.
But the roster has changed again, and not in a way that suggests a team still in the middle of a championship climb. Last season, Cleveland moved on from Darius Garland, effectively ending the young core Altman had built years earlier. The move to acquire Harden could be viewed as the Cavaliers’ final chance to cash in on the open window.
Instead, the Knicks’ championship run provided what felt like a brutal punctuation mark. For many Cavs fans, New York had long been viewed as an arch rival through Cleveland’s rise in the East, and seeing that team win it all while knocking the Cavaliers aside made the ending feel complete.
This offseason only sharpened that sense. Cleveland moved on from two former starters in Max Strus and Dean Wade, along with trade acquisitions Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis. The result is a roster that is now completely devoid of depth.
Extending Harden, when he was supposed to be a championship rental last season, adds another layer to the picture. It reads less like a team making a clean push for a title and more like one trying to hang on in a tougher Eastern Conference, hoping to remain relevant after its best window has already slipped away.
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Donovan Mitchell Sees One Big Reason The Cavaliers Could Break Through
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Mitchell also singled out the additions of James Harden and Peyton Watson as moves that could help lighten the scoring load he has carried. For Cleveland, that kind of offensive relief matters as much as any headline talent, because the Cavs have spent enough time searching for a clearer path to consistency. Mitchell did not make it sound like a finished product, but he did make it clear he sees a more workable shape forming around him. [Read more 🡒]