INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- First things first: the Cleveland Cavaliers are not giving up their pursuit of re-signing LeBron James.
Cavs GM Koby Altman made that much clear on Thursday night, as spoke of the continued talks he's had with the megastar's management team since Cleveland's season ended in the NBA Finals two weeks ago.
"We're very very fortunate to have him here and what he gave to this franchise this year was nothing short of remarkable," Altman said. "We don't take that for granted at all."
But as Thursday night bled into Friday morning, another objective -- if not a mandate -- for Altman this offseason became equally as easy to see. Independent of what James does in his impending free agency, the Cavs are placing a premium on youth.
That was evident in the drafting of Collin Sexton, a 19-year-old point guard out of Alabama who while talented, is still raw. Altman has already made it clear Cleveland has no intention of trading the SEC Freshman of the Year, which would make him the first first-round pick the Cavs will have kept on their roster since Anthony Bennett in 2013.
"I'm excited. He's a young guy," said head coach Tyronn Lue. "We haven't had a lot of chances to develop guys. When we did the Kevin Love deal [in 2014] and the [ensuing] trades, we didn't have the chance to have draft picks."
It'd be tough to argue it hasn't been worth it.
Since James and Love's arrival in 2014, the Cavs have been to four straight Finals and won the first NBA title in franchise history. The continual mortgaging of the future, however, has left Cleveland capped out with few avenues for improvement, while teams like the Warriors, Celtics and Sixers continue to get better thanks in large part to players they drafted themselves.
Although they entered last season as the oldest team in the league, the Cavs' youth infusion began a summer ago when they opted to sign former second-round pick Cedi Osman over a proven veteran such as Jamal Crawford. It then continued at the NBA trade deadline in a trio of roster-altering moves, which netted the Cavs 25-year-old Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood (25) and Jordan Clarkson (26).
At different points in the playoffs, all three players looked overmatched, but that's one of the great things about youth -- there's always room to improve. Regardless of where you stand on Osman, Nance, Clarkson and Hood -- the latter of which is a restricted free agent this summer -- the Cavs now have something to build on, rather than relying a rotating cast of past-their-prime veterans.
"We managed to get younger. I really do think that we're positioned well for the future," Altman said on Thursday. "This franchise is healthy, it has youth, it has talent. And we're excited about our path into the future."
Of course, the flip side of that is youth -- or at least the Cavs' collection of it -- isn't likely to impress James. As the 33-year-old grows older, his patience gets shorter. And after being swept by the Warriors in the Finals, he made it clear he's still in "championship mode."
To be certain, the Cavs aren't ready to stop living up to that standard. They're just ready to try a different -- and potentially more sustainable -- route.
"First and foremost, we want to compete at the highest level. Winning championships is still our goal and will always be our goal," Altman said. "For the first time in a long time, we're going to be in the player development business and we're excited about that."
The latter part of Altman's plan is underway.
The former, meanwhile, will be up to James.