If asked, should Cavs trade Evan Mobley for Kevin Durant?

Should Cavs trade Evan Mobley for Kevin Durant? Why Cavs would not do it

Evan Mobley is roughly 13 years younger than Kevin Durant, entering just the second season of his rookie contract. Given the amount of team control the restricted free agency process affords a team, barring something unexpected the Cavs can expect to have Mobley around for at least another seven years, and if things go reasonably well for even longer than that.

The core of this team is young, and under contract for a number of years. They can and should grow together, taking steps further up the ladder towards contention. Trading Mobley for Durant accelerates that timetable, placing them in contention right now, but it also shortens their window. How many prime years does Durant have left? And what happens when and if he leaves; the Cavs have gone through that divorce with a superstar forward too many times before.

There is also the reality that Durant has only played 88 regular-season games over the past three seasons. He seems to be at his normal level post-Achilles, which is amazing and exciting, but he has suffered a mid-term injury in each of the two subsequent seasons. Are those flukes, or indicative of the reality with KD at this point in his career?

The real reason the Cavs wouldn’t do this trade is the pressure. If the Cavs push in their chips, including their best trade asset, for Durant and they don’t make the NBA Finals? Suddenly Koby Altman is being replaced. With Mobley, he likely has bought himself a long stretch of road. The same likely goes with J.B. Bickerstaff, who has done an excellent job configuring lineups of ill-fitting players and getting buy-in but may not have the X’s and O’s grasp to win four playoff series.