Cavaliers Exec Koby Altman Fires Back at James Harden's Critics

Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman fired back at critics of point guard James Harden following his uneven performance in this year's NBA playoffs.

The Cavs were swept by the New York Knicks in four games in the Eastern Conference Finals and eliminated in four games. Following their loss, veteran sports talk host Chris "Mad Dog" Russo insulted Harden and his gameplay, calling him a "bum" after he averaged just 16 points on 38.9% shooting from the field and 17.9% from 3-point range against New York.

Related: Chris Russo Insults James Harden After Knicks Sweep Cavs

At age 36 and in his 17th NBA season, Altman believes that Harden's critics need to reevaluate their expectations for who "The Beard" is at this point in his basketball career.

We didn't trade for MVP James Harden."

"In regard to James, he was remarkable for us. I think people need to take a step back and realize we didn't trade for MVP James Harden. We traded for James Harden at the end of his career that has transformed himself into becoming one of the best point guards in the league," Altman told reporters at the Cavs' year-end media availability.

"He helped stabilize us, right? He helped regalvanize the group. We were kinda shaky there in terms of our belief, and when he came on board (after the trade deadline), he gave us a real belief and swagger. If you remember, we traded for him and shot out of the gate 5-0 right, with some real swagger and confidence, and we're not in the conference finals without James."

Cavs Want to Re-Sign James Harden

Harden has a player option for $42.3 million this offseason that he will surely turn down in the expectation of signing a multiyear deal that lessens the yearly cap hit, but which gives him added stability and security.

To that end, Altman confirmed the Cavs want to bring Harden back to Cleveland next year, though he admitted the team has luxury tax problems due to being in the second apron.

"James is interesting. Obviously, you know he has a player option. I'm not going into it -- we have to talk to his representation about what that looks like. We're hopeful he comes back, and we have a full training camp with him," Altman said.

"(Harden) is a real important piece, but we need to figure it out. We're obviously in the second apron as of right now, and we need to figure out what pieces we can bring back. Those are hard decisions. The CBA puts that, if you have a really good, deep roster, you have to make difficult decisions. And so we'll start to deliberate what that means and who we can bring back."

Given the Cavs' luxury tax issues, the club likely hopes that it can re-sign Harden to a multiyear, team-friendly contract. But although Harden is 36 and on the downside of his Hall of Fame career, he's still an excellent player and will want to be compensated fairly.

More NBA:

• LeBron James Divulges Timeline for Potential Retirement Decision
• Heat Have Made Trade Offer to Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Draymond Green Blasts Cleveland Cavaliers for Lack of Leadership

Cavs Have to Make Tough Decisions This Offseason

As Altman alluded to, the Cavaliers have to make some really difficult decisions this offseason, partly because they are so deep into the second apron that, financially, it just doesn't make sense to bring back the same team that couldn't advance to the NBA Finals.

The team is said to be considering trading for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, though trading for him is said to cost the Cavs young big man Evan Mobley plus additional draft capital.

The Cavs also want to re-sign their own star player, Donovan Mitchell, to a long-term contract extension, but that, too, will carry financial penalties since they are so deep into the second apron.

The team may therefore have to consider nibbling around the edges and potentially losing their depth players.

Max Strus, a quality sharpshooter for the team, makes $16.6 million next season on the last year of his contract. The Cavs will probably try to dump his contract and replace his role on the team with a veteran minimum salary.

The same goes for Dennis Schröder, who makes $14.8 million next season. Schröder is a very good player and an excellent backup point guard, but the team might be forced to shed his salary due to their second-apron issues.

Sam Merrill, a 3-point specialist, is another player the team may be forced to trade. He has roughly three years and $30 million left on his deal, but the Cavs may try to swap his deal out and give a younger, cheaper player his minutes.

The Cavs also have to decide if they want to re-sign Dean Wade, who is set to become a free agent after playing his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland. After making $6.6 million this year, the team may not be able to afford him to return as they won't be in a position to give him the raise that he likely wants.

Ultimately, it will be fascinating to see what the Cavs do this offseason as they look to retain Harden while maintaining their depth and avoiding any luxury tax issues with the second apron.

Related: Dan Gilbert Hints at Changes After Knicks Sweep Cavs

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 5:03 AM.