How many players would Cavs trade Evan Mobley for? Second fiddles
The league has a number of players who are not best suited to be the primary option on a team. These players have supporting skillsets, shooting and screening and rebounding and defense but not always dribbling, playmaking and penetration. The very best of that are better suited to be the secondary or tertiary star on a contender rather than the top dog.
Evan Mobley could top out as a supporting star, a defensive ace who can stand alongside but not above another on-ball star. Yet there is also the very real possibility that he becomes more, that he is one day a primary offensive and defensive option for a team. Because of that possibility, the Cavs can’t trade Mobley for a secondary star.
That means players such as Jaylen Brown, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis are off the table as supporting stars best deployed beside another on-ball maestro. Paul George needs to be the wingman not the pilot. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are miscast as the top dog, as is Kyrie Irving. Bam Adebayo doesn’t yet have the shot creation needed to carry his own offense.
The Cavs won’t trade Evan Mobley for any of these players. Such a trade would amount to an acceptance that he won’t be a future star, and right now he truly looks to be on that trajectory in some capacity. If the Cavs have the next versatile scoring big in tow, the asking price must remain steep.
Verdict: No