The Cleveland Cavaliers are in unfamiliar territory - and not in a good way. A team that just last season racked up 64 wins and looked poised to be a regular-season juggernaut has stumbled out of the gate in 2025. Sitting at 15-14 with back-to-back losses to a middling Chicago Bulls squad, the Cavs suddenly find themselves not just underperforming - but under a microscope.
Expectations were sky-high coming into this season. And understandably so.
The roster is loaded with talent, the core is seasoned, and the front office doubled down on continuity. But the results simply haven’t matched the blueprint.
Instead of running the table in the East, Cleveland is hovering around .500 and searching for answers.
That frustration isn’t just confined to the locker room or the fanbase. According to league insider Marc Stein, the tension has crept up to the top levels of the organization.
Team owner Dan Gilbert is reportedly displeased with how things have unfolded over the past few months. And when ownership starts to feel the heat, the ripple effects can be felt throughout the building - from the front office to the coaching staff.
Even Kenny Atkinson, last season’s NBA Coach of the Year, isn’t immune to the scrutiny. Stein noted that there’s been chatter in coaching circles for weeks that pressure is building on Atkinson. That’s a sharp turn for a coach who was hailed as a stabilizing force just a few months ago.
Still, there’s some pushback to the idea that Atkinson’s seat is truly hot. Per a source close to the situation, Atkinson remains well-regarded by Gilbert, who was reportedly one of his strongest advocates during the search to replace J.B.
Bickerstaff. That backing could buy Atkinson some time - but in the NBA, goodwill only goes so far when the wins aren’t coming.
For a franchise that’s been a playoff fixture in recent years but hasn’t been able to make that leap to true contention, this kind of stagnation is especially painful. The Cavs have been good - just not good enough. And now, they’re not even that.
So what’s the next move? At this point, it’s hard to ignore the possibility of a major shakeup.
A blockbuster trade might be the only card left to play if Cleveland wants to salvage the season and reassert itself as a threat in the East. The blueprint is out there - think back to the 2019 Raptors.
Years of playoff frustration finally gave way to a championship run after they took a big swing and landed Kawhi Leonard.
Could the Cavs find their own version of that move? That’s the million-dollar question.
But one thing’s clear: standing pat isn’t working. And with pressure mounting from the top down, change could be coming sooner rather than later.