Is it too early to close the book on Evan Mobley blossoming into an offensive force? Definitely not. However, there is a real conversation to be had about the where the Cleveland Cavaliers star taps out in terms of his ceiling. It is one the franchise may not be comfortable having.
The discussions through the offseason were about getting Mobley more involved on offense, allowing him to flourish and experiment with his game. The latter has certainly been given. The former has not really come to pass.
Promises of a sizeable leap have just not been delivered upon to start 2025-26. It is still early, but through a stretch of the Cavaliers absolutely needing all the offense they can get from Mobley, with a ton of injuries slowing them down, it just hasn't been there in the way you'd like if you're Cleveland.
No one is going to press the panic button on a 24-year-old who has been as good as Mobley has overall. However, tempering the expectations for the former top-five pick could be required if the stagnation continues.
Cavaliers must admit to Evan Mobley's offensive limitations
Mobley came up as a subject on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective. The Cavs star received plenty of praise for his game-changing defensive ability, before the crew had to discuss the other end of the basketball court.
Brian Windhorst said, "They want that same level of dominance on the offensive end. Well, that just may not be who he is."
Tim Bontemps immediately jumped in to say that would make that would make Mobley someone who is undeserving of a 30-percent max contract. The ESPN reporter said it would be fair to believe in Mobley growing beyond his current position. However, there was a real possibility his overall impact could be limited to someone like a Jaren Jackson Jr.
That's not a knock. Jackson is a phenomenal basketball player. The Memphis Grizzlies star is just not the offensive force that other dominant big men are.
Bontemps added that being disappointed with Mobley's offense would be fair at this stage. The 'big step forward' has just not arrived.
That is not to say some version of that never happens for the Cavaliers. The discussion that Cleveland needs to have with themselves is how big the shoes size is when the step is finally taken. It may be smaller than the footprint they were hoping for.