5 Cavaliers players who will be much better next season

Evan Mobley will be much better next season

Somehow, the narrative was created this past season that Evan Mobley was a disappointment. Sure he’s good on defense, but he was supposed to be an offensive phenom who combined Kevin Garnet with Chris Bosh with Michael Jordan with Blanko the Monstar. That Mobley didn’t take off and score 25 a game was a failing that proved he was overhyped.

Perhaps Mobley was overhyped by some, and comparing him to all-time legends is a tough legacy to live up to. Yet the reality is that the Cavaliers added an on-ball superstar in Donovan Mitchell and Mobley, as the third option, still increased his scoring, his rebounding and his assists while decreasing his turnovers. That also ignores the fact that Mobley was the best defender on the league’s best defense, finishing as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year.

The last time a player 21 years old or younger finished in the Top 3 of that award? It’s never happened, going all the way back to the first year the award was handed out in 1982-83. Anthony Davis came close, finishing fourth in his age-21 season, and Tim Duncan was fifth as a rookie. Those are phenomenal names for Mobley to be matching up with.

The one area that hasn’t developed yet for Mobley is his outside shooting, and that will obviously be a point of emphasis this offseason. If he can’t improve as a shooter over the next few seasons the pairing with Jarrett Allen won’t work, but the strides he made this past season bode well for him to continue taking steps forward. He will only grow in his offensive role and impact, and he should be even better next season.

Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen are both young and could be even better next season; from veterans getting healthy to young stars taking another step, this roster is full of players who should be even better next year. That bodes extremely well for a team that will look to take the next step and advance in the playoffs a year from now.