All of the intel surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers these days suggests that Evan Mobley is off-limits in offseason trade talks. Giannis Antetokounmpo-for-Mobley rumors? You can pretty much put these to rest. Cleveland is widely believed to be uninterested in swapping out a 24-year-old Mobley for a 31-year-old Giannis, especially with Antetokounmpo's contract expiring next offseason and Mobley having four more seasons left on his deal.
Cavaliers love feeling like their future is secure (and Evan Mobley provides that)
A lot has been made about the Cavs' stubborn insistence on forcing the issue with their current win-now window based around Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Despite this backcourt being way too flawed defensively, Cleveland is expected to re-sign Harden this summer and run things back next year with its same core four of Mitchell, Harden, Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
And while Cleveland's front office is slightly delusional if it thinks that a Mitchell-Harden backcourt is going to seriously contend, the Cavs can also afford to flop during this window as long as there is still a long-term plan in place; in other words, as long as they have Mobley.
Evan Mobley is a great guy to have in a league dominated by Victor Wembanyama
The results of the Western Conference Finals made the Cavs all the more convinced that their plan to hold tight to Mobley (and make him virtually untouchable) is a very smart one. Given the meteoric rise of Victor Wembanyama, Cleveland has never felt better about its "twin tower" frontcourt situation comprised of Mobley and Allen. If there's a big man duo out there that is at all prepared to contain Wemby physically, it's Mobley and Allen.
The Thunder, just conquered by Wemby, are naturally attracted to Evan Mobley as a trade target
Less than 24 hours after Wemby's San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder from the playoffs, reports emerged pointing to OKC's long-held interest in Mobley. And while plenty of Cavs fans laughed off the buzz -- knowing how Cleveland's front office views Mobley -- it might be unwise to completely rule out the Thunder here, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
While Stein reiterated during an appearance on the All NBA Podcast that Mobley-Giannis rumors won't likely manifest in anything real ("I don't see Cleveland being open to it," Stein said), he had a slightly different take on the Thunder's potential pursuit of Mobley, particularly due to the boatload of assets that Thunder GM Sam Presti has at his disposal.
"He's got the trade assets to make any team at least answer the phone and say, 'You know what? We gotta think about this,'" Stein said of Presti.
If Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman took that call from Presti, could he be looped into changing his stance on Mobley? You can't rule it out. If there's one team with the assets and front office wizardry to pry Mobley away from Cleveland, it would be Presti's Thunder.
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