Koby Altman (born September 16, 1982) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

executive who currently serves as the President of Basketball Operations of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA).

Early life

Born to an African American father and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

mother, Altman was raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Altman received his bachelor's degree at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

as a

Posse Foundation The Posse Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with colleges and universities in the United States to provide student scholarships and leadership training. Posse has partnered with 64 U.S. colleges and universities. The organizat ...

Scholar, where he was a three-year starter at

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. After graduation, he went into real estate investment sales for three years. He then went to the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

(UMass), earning a master's degree in sports management. During that time, he was an assistant coach at nearby

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

. After his graduation from UMass, Altman continued in college coaching for several years, first as a graduate assistant at

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

in 2009–10 and then as a full-time assistant at Columbia.

NBA executive

Altman joined the Cavaliers front office in 2012, would gradually rise through the ranks, was part of the 2016 NBA Championship team as director of pro personnel, and became assistant general manager for the 2016–17 season before being promoted to GM on July 24, 2017.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In his first major move as general manager, he acquired an unprotected 2018 first-round draft pick (through the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

), All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, rookie center

Ante Žižić Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. Professio ...

, small forward

Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder ( ; born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Te ...

, and a 2020 second-round pick (through the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

) from the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in exchange for disgruntled star point guard

Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving ( ; , ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cav ...

. In September 2017, Altman's second major move came in the signing of three-time NBA Champion and multi-time All-Star guard

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. ( or , born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the co-owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He is also currently the host of the American a ...

. In February 2018, Altman made several trades during the trade deadline which all totaled saw Thomas, Channing Frye, Crowder,

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA ...

, Iman Shumpert,

, and their 2018 first-round pick traded away. In return, the Cavaliers received Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. Notable draft picks for the Cavaliers under Altman include the 2018 8th pick, Collin Sexton, the 2019 5th pick, Darius Garland, the 2020 5th pick, Isaac Okoro, and the 2021 3rd pick,

Evan Mobley Evan Mobley (born June 18, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected third overall by the Clevel ...

Awards and honors

*2016

NBA champion The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Easter ...

(as a member of the Cavaliers front office)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Koby 1982 births Living people African-American Jews African-American sports executives and administrators American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sports executives and administrators Amherst Mammoths men's basketball coaches Basketball players from New York City Basketball coaches from New York (state) Cleveland Cavaliers executives Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Jews from New York (state) Middlebury Panthers men's basketball players New Utrecht High School alumni Point guards Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches Basketball players from Brooklyn Isenberg School of Management alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American people Jewish American basketball players