Cleveland Cavaliers: Constructing the dream offseason

The Cleveland Cavaliers lock down their center of the near-future in Jarrett Allen in our dream offseason, but that shouldn’t stop them from adding Evan Mobley in the draft if he is available with the third pick. Mobley will likely need to start his career at the 4 anyway, and he can transition to center and the team can trade Allen if Mobley is good enough early on.

With center height and wing skills, Mobley is an elite defensive prospect who can pass, dribble and shoot. He has to show he can develop those skills more than simply a “do-everything” string-bean forward, but he is an analytics darling and can fit into a variety of lineups. The USC big man will be a great addition to their core and could soon become their best player.

With the tenth pick the Cavaliers upgrade on the wing with Franz Wagner out of Michigan. At 6’9″ Wagner is an excellent size to play on the wing at small forward, with the possibility long-term to slide to the 4 in certain lineups with Mobley at the 5.

The best player on an Elite Eight team, Wagner developed a solid offensive portfolio including plus passing ability. Even so his calling card is on defense, where he can envelop players on-ball and leap passing angles off-ball. He should be a much better version of what Isaac Okoro was hoped to be in last year’s draft.