Cavs offseason starts off on the wrong foot with ominous strategy leak

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in an awkward position. They traded for Donovan Mitchell ahead of the 2022-23 campaign expecting to compete for an NBA championship. They've won a total of one playoff series in the two years of Mitchell in Cleveland.

Mitchell, the team's best player, can hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2024-25 season. He can sign an extension to remain with Cleveland long-term, but that hasn't happened yet and nothing suggests that a deal will be reached. If no extension is reached, the Cavs have a difficult decision on their hands. Do they keep him and try one more time to win while he's under contract? Or do they trade him to ensure that they get something in return?

What about other players on the team like Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen? They're under contract but are not ideal fits alongside Mitchell and Evan Mobley respectively.

With no cap space to work with and limited assets, getting better is a tough task for Cleveland to accomplish over the summer. In order to find a way to get their franchise steered in the right direction they're calling upon... Dan Gilbert to be "significantly" more involved in basketball decisions according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Yikes.

Cavs setting themselves up for disaster with ridiculous offseason plan

Gilbert is the owner of the Cavaliers. He's a businessman worth a fortune, and he used some of that fortune to purchase the Cavs. While he's certainly a fan of his Cavaliers, he's far from a basketball executive. He's not qualified to be making basketball decisions, yet it sounds like that's exactly what he's going to do.

The owner having a say in the hiring process for a team's general manager makes sense, but anything beyond that is crazy. The owner should not be meddling in actual basketball decisions. This is such a crucial offseason for the Cavs franchise, and there seems to be a good chance that it's going to be run by someone who isn't qualified to run it. We've seen the same thing happen with Matt Ishbia who owns the Phoenix Suns.

Perhaps Gilbert's involvement is overblown and he'll let President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman do his job, but if Gilbert is the one in control, this offseason could end up being a disastrous one for a Cavaliers team that cannot afford to make any mistakes right now.