Cavs President Koby Altman raves about Evan Mobley -- but ignores trade rumors

INDEPENDENCE — Koby Altman spoke glowingly about his star power forward. The Cavaliers' president of basketball operations talked about Evan Mobley being a big part of the team's future. However, if the Milwaukee Bucks offer Giannis Antetokounmpo for Mobley, Cleveland's front office would have to think long and hard about making that trade. There is a huge age difference between the two players — Mobley is 24 years old and the "Greek Freak" is 31. Antetokounmpo is an NBA champion, a two-time MVP and a 10-time All-Star. Mobley made the All-Star team once. Mobley's allure is his potential; what he could turn into. The 7-foot, 230-pounder is a very good player now — Altman said he was arguably the Cavs' best player throughout the playoffs — but at some point could turn into Kevin Garnett. The 6-11, 243-pound Antetokounmpo is a major force now if he can stay on the court. His 2025-26 season was limited to just 36 games because of injuries. Of course, in those games, he averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Mobley, the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25, averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games. Before the Cavs would make such a deal, they would have to get assurance that Antetokounmpo would be willing to sign a contract extension. Altman, speaking at his end-of-the-season press conference at Cleveland Clinic Courts on Friday, wouldn't "speculate on any players outside of these walls." But he sure has some good things to say about Mobley. "Since Evan has been here, we have the third-best record in the league," he said. "Now, we don't have a championship to show for that. Boston and Denver are the two ahead of us and they have a championship to show for that. All Evan has done is impact winning. He's been remarkable for us as far as our ascent the last few years. He's a huge part of what we do. He knows he has to get better. "We are very fortunate to have drafted Evan Mobley. He's a franchise-caliber player." Of the star players drafted in 2021 — Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Orlando's Franz Wagner, Toronto's Scottie Barnes and Mobley, the latter is the first from that group to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. "We have to take pride in that," Altman said. He also touched on several other topics: Standing pat with Kenny Atkinson: There were many in the media and on social media calling for the Cavs to fire Atkinson, who put the finishing touches on his second season in Cleveland. "We heard the noise after that loss to the Knicks, which was unfortunate," Altman said. "It was never a story. There was never a conversation about Kenny at all. There doesn't always have to be a fall guy." Extending Donovan Mitchell: On or around July 7, the Cavs are expected to offer Mitchell a maximum contract extension. "Donovan is uniquely ours," Altman said. "He's our guy. When you are constantly an All-NBA talent, that is a great leader, has an incredible work ethic and adds to the mystique of our program, you embrace that. Donovan is uniquely ours. We're very fortunate to have an All-Star, superstar-quality player that loves it here. We're very fortunate to have a superstar player. He wants more. He has high, high expectations. We have a chance to win with him being our best player." Mitchell will turn 30 years old Sept. 7. "He's still playing the best basketball of his career," Altman said. "Donovan is our guy. He has professed how much he likes it here. He's elevated everything about this organization and this franchise. We're fortunate to have him. We're getting him at his peak right now and we hope that continues. Donovan has been steadfast in how much he wants to be here. He's our best ambassador. The biggest question is whether he wants to be here, and he said he does." Bringing back "The Beard": Cavs guard James Harden has until June 29 to decide whether to opt out of his $42.3 million contract for 2026-27. He's expected to opt out and then sign a two-year deal with Cleveland. "He was remarkable for us," Altman said. "We didn't trade for MVP James Harden. We traded for James Harden who is at the end of his career that has transformed himself as one of the best point guards in the league. He helped stabilize us and helped re-galvanize the group. We were kind of shaky there. He gave us a real belief and swagger. "James elevates the people around him. He makes people better. He's a savant. There's a toughness about him. There are intangibles he brings to the table that are important to us. I'm very excited to have him around for training camp." The Cavs remain in second apron: Altman said he has to figure out what pieces Cleveland can bring back among its lower-tier free agents like Dean Wade and Keon Ellis. There's a chance neither will return. Altman said there isn't an urgency to get under the second apron. "The urgency is if there's a move that makes sense to do it," he said. "There's no urgency to get out of it just to get out of it. Then you'll be shedding contracts and good players to do it. We've been very strategic. This was the first year we've been in the tax since 2018." Altman said they were able to acquire three players at the trade deadline (Harden, Ellis and Dennis Schroder) that helped the team and were able to shed some salary while working around the confines of the second apron of the luxury tax. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.