It’s not easy to stay in the moment while prepping for the future. We’ve seen teams burn themselves by prioritizing one over the other, or waiting too long to go all-in on their window. The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to be one of the rare teams that thread the needle—and Jaylon Tyson is a key part of that.
“We talk about Evan Mobley as our future,” Koby Altman said in a press conference held after the NBA’s trade deadline. “We need to start adding Jaylon Tyson to that conversation.”
Cleveland has
undergone some sizeable changes over the last few days. Just this week, they traded De’Andre Hunter and two-time All-Star Darius Garland. These trades can be seen as win-now moves that increase their chances of winning a title in the present, but potentially put their long-term future in jeopardy.
But Tyson’s emergence has made them more comfortable taking risks. The freshly turned 23-year-old is averaging 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on elite efficiency and has given the franchise a new cornerstone to build on.
“Jaylon has been a revelation for us,” said Altman. “And so creating a pathway for him to be successful, minutes for him to be successful certainly went into that decision-making process, and we couldn’t be more excited about him.”
Specifically on the Hunter deal, it’s hard to see the Cavs trading away one of their only true wings if Tyson doesn’t make the leap he has. Tyson wasn’t expected to be in the rotation, let alone contending for starter minutes, even when the team reaches full strength. He’s now a member of the NBA’s Rising Stars squad, and it’s unclear what his ceiling should be. Could he one day grow into an All-Star? That’s not a question we thought we’d be asking so soon.
This type of breakout is what makes the NBA exciting. The landscape of a franchise can change so quickly as one talent makes another expendable. Altman didn’t say that directly, but we can assume the Cavs wouldn’t have felt as confident trading Hunter, or even Garland, if Tyson didn’t look as good as he has.
“Man… Coming from last year to this year, it’s like a different player,” Kenny Atkinson said after last night’s win in LA. “And now I’m kicking myself, ‘why didn’t we give him more opportunity last year?”
So, Tyson is now embedded in the future of this franchise. He’s designated himself valuable enough to bet on. Now all he has left is to continue proving his worth.
