Tanking not an option for Altman, Cavs: I don't want to go backward

Losing LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers is obviously a blow the Cleveland Cavaliers won't quickly recover from, which they understand, having gone through this situation once before in 2010.

Knowing what likely lies ahead under a full-blown rebuild, Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman would rather stick with what he has and try to compete, as he feels the roster as currently constructed is talented enough to hold its own.

"To go the complete opposite direction, which we've been through, is not fun and it's hard," Altman said Friday, according to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon. "It's hard to sort of come out of that. And the unknown is really daunting to me.

"I really like what we have now and I don't necessarily want to go backwards."

When James left for South Beach to sign with the Miami Heat, the weakened Cavaliers responded by stringing together four years of some of the worst basketball in franchise history, before the King eventually returned in 2014.

Cleveland has more to work with now than they had before, though, with an All-Star in Kevin Love, lottery pick in rookie Collin Sexton, young pieces such as Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson, and Finals-tested vets Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith.

"The years where you're non-competitive aren't fun," added Altman. "And I know that's hard to build a culture that way and we've had a great culture of winning because of LeBron and that infrastructure that he brings right away. And I'd like to capitalize on that.

"You won't be nearly as good if you lose a player of that magnitude. But we can still be competitive, we can be tough, we can be skilled, we can be talented and we can still use that culture that's sort of been embedded these last four years."

Altman mentioned he has reached out to his veteran players like Love, George Hill, and Kyle Korver to let them know they should all plan on returning in 2018-19. Love, especially, has been linked to several trade rumors following James' departure, but Altman doesn't believe Cleveland can get better by shipping him off.

"Kevin's been incredible for us for four years and he wants to be here, and to me that's a big part for guys that are here and the guys that we're gonna acquire, is that they want to be here and be a part of this new chapter and culture that we're creating," Altman said.