Regrading the Cavs’ entire 2021 offseason move by move

Regrading the Cavs’ entire 2021 offseason: Drafting Evan Mobley

The Cleveland Cavaliers were really bad in the 2020-21 NBA season, winning just 22 games despite Collin Sexton’s high-scoring season. Thanks to the incentive structure of the NBA, their ineptitude gave them a great chance of picking high in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Draft Lottery saw them land third, a great spot to be in what was considered at the time a four-player draft at the top.

Cade Cunningham would have been an incredible fit with this roster, but he went first overall. Jalen Green went second, leaving the Cavs to take Evan Mobley third. At the time it seemed the obvious pick, as Jalen Suggs was exceptionally superfluous on a team with Darius Garland and Collin Sexton.

It turned out to be more than obvious; it was incredible, as Evan Mobley was NBA-ready from the jump. He started making standout defensive plays from the start, defending Trae Young in space in his third career game and earning the eyes of the national media. That didn’t let up either, as he was highly impactful on that end all season long. Offensively he is more of a work in progress, but he still averaged 15 points per game and flashed excellent passing work from the elbow.

Mobley is a clear-cut top-3 player in this draft and they took him third; they should get some credit for not taking Suggs and for taking Mobley despite the presence of Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love. In the end they walked away from the draft with a generational two-way talent who would have gone No. 1 in this year’s draft, or in many others. That’s a standout job.

New Grade: A