6 best moves the Cavaliers made during Koby Altman era

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Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images /

No. 4: Drafting Evan Mobley in 2021 Draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a bad season in 2020-21, continuing the trend of struggling in the aftermath of LeBron James departing. Darius Garland was a bright spot, taking a leap forward down the stretch of his second season, but the Cavs were still figuring out the rest of the team around him.

The 2021 NBA Draft was loaded with talent, and the Cavs went in with the third overall pick. They were saved from making any truly difficult decisions by the Houston Rockets taking Jalen Green second overall, allowing USC big man Evan Mobley fall to third, but they still had to make the right decision in front of them.

Avoiding the temptation of drafting Jalen Suggs or Scottie Barnes, or trading down, the Cavs took Mobley and have been on fire ever since. Cleveland doubled its win total in Mobley’s rookie season, with the young phenom seemingly everywhere on defense. This past season he improved his scoring inside while finishing as a Defensive Player of the Year finalist. No player younger than 23 had ever finished in the Top 3 for that award; Mobley was 21.

The future remains to be written, so it could be that Mobley tops out as one of the league’s best defenders and a middling offensive option; or it could be that in two years he is averaging 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks a game as the third banana on a top contender. The sky is the limit for Mobley.