Does Evan Mobley get the Cavs into the playoffs in Year 1?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken another step towards returning to relevancy within the NBA’s Eastern Conference with the addition of USC standout Evan Mobley.

While Mobley isn’t anywhere close to being a finished product, he is without a doubt the player that Cleveland needed the most. His addition would appear to cement the Cavs current core over the next few seasons.

With Darius Garland and Collin Sexton (seemingly) manning the backcourt, Isaac Okoro occupying the other forward spot and Jarrett Allen (presumably) holding it down at center, Mobley is the major piece the Cavs have been lacking since the rebuild began.

A big man in the mold of a Chris Bosh or Deandre Ayton, Mobley could step in and immediately contribute in a starting role alongside the franchise’s other cornerstones. The question that I am imploring you to ponder though is quite straight-forward.

Is Mobley alone enough to get the Cavs to the Eastern Conference Playoffs?

Even without any significant free agent acquisitions, the Cleveland based-squad could see a substantial boost in the win-column. It’s completely logical to assume that we can expect continued development out of the entire starting unit.

Darius Garland looks the part of a floor general and has even showcased his ability to act as a shot-creator, perhaps best seen in a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in which Garland tallied a career-high 37 points, and dished out 7 helpers. Many believe that Garland has the most potential of all current Cavaliers players and if he is able to remain relatively healthy, we could bear witness to the birth of the next great Cavalier point guard.

Collin Sexton, the Cavs resident bucket-getter, continues to display improved playmaking despite what many would have you believe. Couple that with his ability to score from anywhere on the court and you have a future All-Star on your hands. Now, yes, Sexton still has his warts.

The Alabama product can still be prone to tunnel vision from time-to-time and can be occasionally seen overdribbling. And, while he is not yet viewed in the light of truly impactful scorers that could change should Cleveland begin to win more games.

Isaac “Ice” Okoro came into the league as a defensive stopper and if we are being honest, a bit undersized at the small forward being listed at 6-foot-5 but showed why the Cavs had enough faith in him to take him 5th overall during his respective draft. During his rookie season, Okoro faced off against many of the game’s best on a nightly basis and towards the end of season (May 1-16) he started to show glimpses of possible two-way potential.

The aforementioned Jarrett Allen is where things could potentially get dicey due to the fact that he is hitting restricted free-agency and could command a high annual salary on an open market that hasn’t been to kind to bigs as of late. That said, Allen in my opinion, should be extended as long as the price isn’t above the $20 million annual range. Mobley could feasibly end up being the lightning to Allen’s thunder should the latter re-sign.

Add in solid complementary pieces such as the recently-acquired Ricky Rubio at the backup point guard spot, the versatile Larry Nance Jr. (if he’s not dealt), the underrated Dean Wade, streaky Cedi Osman (if he sticks around), and you have a dependable rotation. That’s without even mentioning young studs like Lamar Stevens, who is set to be non-guaranteed though, like Wade.

No, Mobley alone doesn’t instantly make the Cavaliers contenders. But I do believe that his addition would be enough to get the team into the play-in game which would probably require anywhere between 37-40 wins to achieve.

That’s certainly a possibility all things considered. Anything else is just icing on the cake.