When a team’s disappointing season comes to an end, its fans are often left to pick up the pieces and wonder what went wrong. Fortunately for Cleveland Cavaliers fans, they didn’t have to wait long to get answers, with The Athletic publishing an article detailing the team’s behind-the-scenes — and sometimes on-the-court — drama seemingly moments after the final buzzer sounded in their season-ending loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Authored by Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd, the article includes revelations regarding the Cavs that date back to Cleveland’s selection of Evan Mobley in the 2021 NBA Draft and paints a bleak portrait of the team’s 2023-24 season. Among the news that was previously unknown before the publishing of the the story was the following:
- Cavs President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman “admonished” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff for playing Donovan Mitchell too many minutes during an overtime win over the Houston Rockets in December.
- Bickerstaff’s job status is now in “serious jeopardy.”
- Mitchell and other players on the team “did not have great confidence in Bickerstaff” and questioned his strategies, game management, practice habits and accountability measures both publicly and privately.
- Jarrett Allen’s absence due to bruised ribs the last two weeks caused frustration within the organization toward him, with some upset he wouldn’t take an injection to help numb his pain.
- There are ongoing questions regarding Allen’s fit with Evan Mobley and Mitchell’s fit with Darius Garland.
- Garland’s representation would have a conversation with the Cavs about potentially trading him if Mitchell signs a long-term deal with Cleveland this summer.
- Mitchell wanted the franchise to aim higher than winning a first-round playoff series this season but could still sign a long-term extension this summer. If he doesn’t, the Cavs would have to consider trading the five-time All-Star.
- Mobley’s representation asked Cleveland not to draft him in 2021 in hopes of facilitating a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- The Cavs have spent the past three seasons prioritizing winning over Mobley’s personal development as a player.
- Veteran Cavs players grew upset over Bickerstaff treating them as if they are a young team.
- Mitchell’s workload played a role in him declining an invitation from USA Basketball last summer, which hurt his chances of being selected to the Olympic team this year.
- Players were upset Cleveland seemingly tanked its regular-season finale to avoid facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
- Members of the Cavs organization believed Bickerstaff made comments praising the Celtics as an “unfavorable comparison” to his own team during the second-round series.
Well then.
As both a Cleveland sports fan and journalism nerd, I have so many questions about this story (which is worth your time to read in its entirety). Among them: how far back was it known that Mobley’s representation asked the Cavs not to draft him? When did it become known that Altman dressed down Bickerstaff in December? How much of this story was already written before the final (or opening) buzzer on Tuesday? And how were Charania, Vardon and Lloyd so confident that they wouldn’t get scooped on any of it before publishing it?
The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis has a name for these kind of end-of-season articles: the “now they tell us” piece, in which beat writers and insiders give you the behind-the-scenes breakdown of a season after it’s already ended, usually in less than flattering terms. If ever there was archetype for such a story, it’s this one, which reveals months worth of details and drama that had only previously been speculated about among the fanbase.
This is a 10 out of 10 “Now they tell us” piece @bryancurtis https://t.co/gwECPHPc0z
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 16, 2024
For fans, it’s never fun to find out your organization is is as dysfunctional as the Cavs seem to be, but at least they now have some answers regarding what went wrong this past season. Now, all eyes shift to the offseason ahead, with Mitchell’s decision regarding his potential contract extension looming large for all involved.
