How did Evan Mobley fall to Cavs in NBA Draft, not get taken at #1?

Mobley lacks the tenacity to be a superstar

Now this criticism came from many different people, and in many different ways leading into the 2021 NBA Draft. Some scouting reports would say he looked lost on defense at times, and at other times he didn’t really show the killer instinct you want in a franchise cornerstone. I disagree with the fact that he needs to be incredibly hungry and tenacious in all facets of his game to reach his potential. However, there have been one or two times this year where he has come out and shown his tenacity and defensive prowess.

Unfortunately for the older generation, there are a lot of professional athletes now who also love other things as much as they love basketball. Now, I know that would have been frowned upon as little as 10 years ago. That just isn’t the case anymore, though.

LeBron James produced a movie over the summer. Kevin Durant recently invested in Acorns and in 2017, also invested in coinbase. In today’s world, NBA players are becoming high-profile businessmen during their off time; like I said LeBron James made a movie over the summer. So, while at times it may look like Mobley is lost, or isn’t really into the game that night, that may just be the way he is. He’s from Southern California, and he’s just a laid-back young man.

Honestly it’s refreshing to see Mobley sway away from the limelight, whereas guys like Kyrie Irving continue to shine the limelight on themselves. I have no doubt in my mind that Mobley has the tenacity and killer instinct when he needs it. However, with him everything just looks smooth and easy, and I’m completely fine with that.

In the end, if you asked the Rockets if they made a mistake taking Green over Mobley, they would say no, and that is the correct response. Jalen Green brings excitement back to Houston, and that team is in full-rebuild mode. Cade Cunningham has looked great as of late and as I said earlier, will be a star in the league. But all things considered, Cavs fans should consider themselves lucky they got a good one. The fact that he’s a laid-back young man, will probably actually help him in the long run. Either way, Mobley has been outstanding thus far this season, and I would say he’s the most important player on the Cavaliers right now.

When he went down with a sprained elbow, the Cavs lost all four of the games he missed. So let’s just enjoy his rookie season while it’s going on, because in a year or two, the rest of the world will start tuning in as well.