Cavs Should Stay The Course, Try To Add Toughness Around Edges Of Roster, Scout Says

If the Cavaliers want to take the next steps in the playoffs, they may want to consider not changing a thing. Or maybe only making minimal changes.

That’s the opinion of one rival NBA scout, who told Hoops Wire he believes “the Cavs are on their way to big things, I really believe that.”

His suggestion? Keep the Core Four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen together. Also keep Max Strus and De’Andre Hunter and hope that you can re-sign free agent guards Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill — especially Jerome.

“I know people are saying they don’t have enough for the playoffs, but that’s fanatical and over-reactionary,” the scout said. “They went 64-18, and that wasn’t a fluke. Three years since the start of the Donovan Mitchell era isn’t a very long time. They’ve also had just one season of Kenny Atkinson.”

The scout wasn’t finished.

“Did people really expect them to get to the Finals this season?” he asked. “From everything I saw before the season, they were picked to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth (in the Eastern Conference). They did so many good things. I don’t think you tear it down just because they failed to make it to the Finals in Year One of Atkinson. That’s silly.”

The Cavs, of course, were eliminated in the second round by the eventual East-champion Indiana Pacers. President of basketball operations Koby Altman admitted that the Cavs need to get “mentally tougher.”

The scout said Cleveland can do that without “gutting the roster” or trading Garland or Allen.

“From everything I’ve heard, they’re exploring trades involving Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro and that would make sense,” the scout said. “You do need to add some toughness if you’re the Cavs. But you don’t need to ship out your All-Stars. Run it back. You can easily find what you need with the players they may be offering (Wade and Okoro). I also really like Jaylon Tyson. He probably adds a lot of that toughness with just more experience and minutes.”

For the record, the scout said he watched the Cavs at least 20 times this past season, including several playoff games against the Pacers.

“I think the window in both conferences, especially the East, is pretty wide open,” he said. “There are several teams that could be next year’s Pacers, and the Cavs are undoubtedly among them. I probably wouldn’t say that if they unloaded Garland or Allen just because.

“Those players aren’t going to bring back what the Cavs need to get over the top anyway, I don’t think. Those are some darn good players. The Cavs just need to surround their nucleus with some 10-15-minute tough guys, in my opinion. And that’s entirely doable.”

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