Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman — the architect of the burgeoning NBA championship contender — has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, along with the rest of the executive front office, the team announced Monday night.
After the franchise’s sustained growth over the years and this past season’s No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, owner Dan Gilbert rewarded Altman and his front office staff, including general manager Mike Gansey, assistant GM Brandon Weems, vice president of basketball operations/general counsel Jason Hillman and vice president of basketball strategy and personnel Jon Nichols, with multiyear extensions.
“Koby Altman has demonstrated that he is the right person to lead this franchise. He is not only an outstanding team-builder, but he has also created an exceptional culture that transcends the basketball side of our business and serves as a positive foundation and philosophy for the entire franchise,” Gilbert said in a statement. “Koby not only has a great nose for basketball talent, but he has recruited and developed extraordinary front office talent as well. This unique combination has positioned our franchise to compete for championships for years to come.
“The decision to extend Koby and his team is not solely based on recent success, but rather the entire body of work since he took over the role in 2018.”
The Cavaliers have the third-best record in the NBA over the past three seasons — making the playoffs each year — and won the second-most games in franchise history in 2024-25.
The Cavaliers made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing in five games to the Indiana Pacers amid a spate of injuries that saw Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter all miss time.
Altman’s representative, Bret Just of WME Basketball, finalized terms with the franchise on a new deal before the playoffs, sources said.
Altman and his staff drafted Defensive Player of the Year Mobley and two-time All-Star guard Garland in 2021 and 2019, respectively, while trading for Jarrett Allen in 2021 and making the landmark acquisition of All-NBA superstar Mitchell in 2022. Last offseason, the Cavaliers hired Kenny Atkinson, who was named Coach of the Year.
The Cavaliers this offseason traded for Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls to replace Ty Jerome as the top reserve point guard, re-signed Sam Merrill and brought back veteran big man Larry Nance Jr.
Altman was promoted to Cavaliers GM in July 2017, then to president of basketball operations in 2022. For Altman and his front office staff, this signifies their third extension — a sign of patience and step-by-step building from ownership.
Former Cavs star LeBron James was thrilled about one extension in particular.
“YESSIR!!! Congratulations to my brother B.Weems!!” James posted to X on Monday. “Super proud of u man.”
Gilbert recently spearheaded Cleveland’s pursuit of an expansion WNBA franchise and was rewarded with a team in late June. Gilbert and his ownership group also are building a 210,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art practice facility for the Cavaliers.
