Isaiah Mobley didn’t play much with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season as a rookie, which was to be expected. There weren’t a boatload of minutes to go around as it pertained to the 4 and 5 spots coming in, and the second-round pick in Mobley was on a two-way contract with Cleveland.
He played sparingly with the Cavaliers, making 13 appearances in the 2022-23 campaign, most of which came in garbage time. In 6.5 minutes on average in those games, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Mobley was a standout with the Cavaliers G-League affiliate in the Cleveland (formerly Canton) Charge, though. He registered 21.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game with them, with him starting in all of his 22 appearances. He benefited from valuable developmental opportunities with the Charge, and for his efforts, he was named All- NBA G League Third Team.
Of course, one of the takeaways from last years’ draft was the obvious connection Mobley had within the Cavaliers in his brother, Evan Mobley. Evan is one of the best players on the Cavs, and very well could be their best player in the near future it seems, with his two-way abilities and with his immense impact on their turnaround in the past two seasons.
This isn’t disregarding the Mobley connection, either. It’s natural to point to that, and Isaiah is not a player who will likely have near the NBA career of his little brother in Evan.
However, the older Mobley is a high IQ player in his own right, and while he’s currently in that two-way deal with Cleveland leading into free agency and could be extended a qualifying offer, which would make him restricted, Cleveland should definitely consider keeping him around.
Next season, them eventually keeping him around via a standard deal wouldn’t seem so far-fetched, either. In a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, it seems Cleveland could sign Mobley to another two-way deal again, and that report make it appear some Mobley minutes could be in-store next year.
He did state in the report how free agency and the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft will factor into things, too, and listed possible big man targets, which you can view more on here.
The Cavs should think about meaningful Isaiah Mobley minutes in 2023-24.
Mobley was involved at the “interchangeable” 4 and 5 spots with the Charge this season, with Mamadi Diakite, who was on a two-way deal with the Cavaliers, also, but will not be two-way eligible this next season.
Isaiah Mobley is a big with some similarities as his brother in Evan Mobley having real post-up feel, and he can make plays for others as well, which is something to keep in mind with him as a possibility for depth big minutes for the Cavaliers.
Isaiah is a player who has shown he can stretch the floor a bit as a deep threat, too, which he displayed some at USC. On 3.1 three-point attempts per contest with the Charge, he converted on 35.3 percent of those looks, and in his last season with the Trojans in 2021-22, he knocked in 35.2 percent of those on 3.8 attempts on average.
In spurts at the 5 or in stretches with Evan there, Isaiah Mobley could be a big with some catch-and-shoot abilities, and theoretically, could be a pick-and-pop threat occasionally.
Along with the catch-and-shoot potential, Isaiah can create some off of drives, and makes sound decisions when needed operating in the middle of the floor. He has nice touch and with the Charge was a smooth operator in the lane at times after initial pump fakes, so maybe one could see some of those things from him in meaningful minutes with the Cavs in 2023-24.
Now, by comparison, the older Mobley is not the defender of his younger brother, who made NBA All-Defensive First Team this season, at not even 22 years old yet.
That said, Isaiah (6-foot-8) is a high IQ player in his own right, and could provide some rim deterrence/protection with his 7-foot-3 length, and in defense against opposing bigs, he could hold his own for some minutes.
He could potentially be a decent drop defending option as well, and is sound with his shot contests off-ball. Mobley had 1.2 blocks per game with the Charge in the 2022-23 G League season.
So, while rumored possible targets such as Bismack Biyombo, Drew Eubanks and potentially Naz Reid could be in-play this offseason for the Cavs, depending on how the offseason goes, Cleveland might want to consider some legit Isaiah Mobley minutes in 2023-24. Whether he is again on a two-way deal or eventually is given a standard contract at some point, the fellow USC product (who turns 24 in September) could help the Cavs depth, and might have the makings of a stretch big.
Maybe we’ll see some Brobley lineups at times in real run next season.