The Cleveland Cavaliers took their time, but in the end had quite a busy offseason. They traded away multiple rotation players from last season’s team, in return bringing in Peyton Watson via trade to be their new starting small forward.

Cavaliers President Koby Altman has developed quite the track record for making trades, as he pulls off at least one or two every offseason or trade deadline. At times he looks like a negotiating genius, but at others he appears to have completely fumbled the bag.

As fans reflect on his tenture with the team over a decade of transactions, which trades stand out as the absolute worse? The answer casts a questionable light on the future Cavaliers fans can expect with Altman at the helm, as three of his five of his worst deals have happened in the last two years.

No. 5: De’Andre Hunter to Kings

Less than a year into the De’Andre Hunter experience, things were clearly not working out between the veteran forward and the Cavaliers. His shot had dropped off, his defense was underwhelming, and his remaining contract looked imposing.

Altman found a trade suitor for Hunter in the Sacramento Kings, receiving in return journeyman point guard Dennis Schroder and intriguing young wing Keon Ellis. It looked as if it may be an inspired pivot – except for the fact that both Scroder and Ellis are already gone for nothing. The slim Ellis was excised from the playoff rotation and walked in free agency, while Schroder was salary dumped on the Charlotte Hornets to open up salary flexibility.

Getting out of Hunter’s future contract was helpful, but otherwise this was a poor return that did nothing for Cleveland.

No. 4: Darius Garland for James Harden

The story is yet to be fully written on this deal, but it certainly does not look like it will have a happy ending. Darius Garland battled injuries and was a defensive target, making him a difficult fit next to Donovan Mitchell.

Trading him for James Harden, however, and throwing in a second-round pick on top of it, has put the Cavaliers in a bind. Harden has a defined playoff ceiling that will hold Cleveland back, and he warps the play style of the team on both ends of the court. Add in that he is a decade older and just secured a fully guaranteed 3-year contract that will pay him $34 million at age 39, and the future that Altman chose with this trade is a terrifying one.

No. 3: Ricky Rubio and picks for Caris LeVert

Ricky Rubio’s first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers went extremely well – until it didn’t. Rubio tore his ACL in the middle of the season, and Altman decided not to wait his rehab out but to use his contract to trade for a player who could help them in the present.

With the Cavaliers wobbling on the edge of the playoffs, he sent Rubio, a first-round pick and a pair of second-rounders to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Caris LeVert and a second. LeVert couldn’t help them make the playoffs, as they lost in the Play-In Tournament, and his skillset overlapped with the team’s stars, preventing him from being a true impact player for the team.

The cost also became quite painful. The Pacers landed two-way point guard Andrew Nembhard with one of the picks, and 3-and-D wing Ben Shepard with another (with one more still to be paid out). Keeping Rubio and drafting Nembhard would have done wonders for this team over the last few years, as he would have been the ideal fit next to Donovan Mitchell.

No. 2: Trading for De’Andre Hunter

The original De’Andre Hunter trade is a much more painful mistake for the Cavaliers. With their team roster about to get much more expensive, they decided to send out expiring money to secure a long-term contract, landing on De’Andre Hunter over other defensive options on the market such as Marcus Smart.

A few things happened to turn this deal into a disaster. First, Hunter was bad – that was a bad evaluation, but also not expected when the deal was made. Second, Evan Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year and his contract spiked, making the Cavaliers much more expensive than they expected and forcing them to let Ty Jerome walk in free agency, among other decisions made since.

Finally, the deal came at a real cost, as Cleveland moved on from two beloved role players in Caris LeVert and Georges Niang and gave Atlanta two pick swaps, the first of which already came to pass this season, pushing Cleveland down a half dozen slots in the first round. They gave up real value for a player who didn’t help and who was ultimately dumped for nothing. Not great, Bob.

No. 1: Kyrie Irving

Finally, the clear No. 1 worst trade of Koby Altman’s tenure is the Kyrie Irving deal of 2017. Fresh off of three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving decided that he was done playing with LeBron James on the Cavaliers. Threatening to sit out the season with a back injury, Irving successfully forced Altman’s hand in making a trade.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the trade that he agreed to looked terrible at the time and got even worse in the month to follow. Isaiah Thomas, the centerpiece star of the return, had a debilitating hip injury and never played at even a rotation level again in the NBA. Jae Crowder was a disaster in Cleveland, Ante Zizic never turned into an NBA player, and the shining jewel of the deal, one of the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected first-round picks, ended up the worst of the bunch at just pick No. 8.

Cleveland used the pick on Collin Sexton, who had some moments in Cleveland but ultimately was just salary filler in the Donovan Mitchell trade. Whether or not Cleveland had a real chance to win a second title in 2018, they were completely hamstrung, first by Irving’s trade demand, and then by the terrible trade that Altman made.

Some of his deals have worked out; others have been complete disasters. And with some real doozies happening in the last two years, it suggests an inconsistent future ahead of the Cavaliers.

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