Expectations. That is what has followed Evan Mobley throughout his entire Cleveland Cavaliers tenure. When he was drafted in 2021, the team viewed him as a potential franchise face and someone who could become one of the NBA’s best big men.
Mobley has shown that in flashes. After all, he has been named to the All-Defensive first team twice, has won the Defensive Player of the year, and has an All-Star and All-NBA appearance. The problem has been consistency.Â
The Cavs have also refused to include him in trade talks for stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown. That shows how much they believe in their young big. Now, it’s time for him to take the next step.
Evan Mobley is under a lot of pressure to deliver next year
And he has to. Cleveland has been trying to take the next step as contenders for the last few seasons and while they did reach the conference finals last year, there is more for them to do. In order for them to be at their best, Mobley has to leap on offense.
He had an up and down regular season, where he struggled with on-ball shot creation and his shooting cratered to near career-low levels. However, he bounced back in a huge way during the playoffs.Â
Mobley oftentimes looked like the Cavs’ best player throughout the postseason and whenever he had a big role in the offense, good things happened. He showed great improvement as a playmaker and looked strong in the paint as a finisher.
He also showed that he isn’t afraid of big-time moments. He hit a lot of big time shots and had his fair share of momentum changing plays throughout the playoffs, from games 5 and 6 against the Raptors to his clutch Game 7 performance against the Pistons.
He still gets thrown off balance sometimes offensively and imposing his will on the boards more consistently would also help, but all of the talent and tools are there. It’s about putting it together and it would help if Cleveland gave him a bigger role within the offense as a hub next year.
This upcoming season will be a crucial one for Mobley. While the Cavs have not given any indication that they would move him, anything is possible in today’s NBA. This is a guy that is on a max contract and while he is one of the NBA’s best defenders, he needs to show that same value on the other end of the floor.
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