Following the Cleveland Cavaliers' series loss to the New York Knicks, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted out a message to fans that contained some very interesting language.
We took a step ahead this spring, but we are nowhere near where we need to be. I can’t thank the fans enough for the support this year. We will dig in all summer and do everything we possibly can to take the next step. We will grind until we get there.
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) May 26, 2026
Congrats to the @nyknicks,…
Particularly notable was Gilbert saying that the Cavs are "nowhere near where [they] need to be" and that Cleveland will "dig in all summer" to take the next step (presumably, towards a championship).
This wasn't just nothing-burger GM-speak from Gilbert, at least according to plenty of Cavs observers who feel that Gilbert was hinting at a summer splash on the trade market. With many of these same fans itching for a big move, ESPN's Tim Bontemps added fuel to the fire with his own interpretation of Gilbert's tweet.
Tim Bontemps believes Evan Mobley is a likely trade candidate this summer
Appearing on the Hoop Collective podcast, Bontemps asserted that Gilbert's tweet strongly suggested that the Cavaliers will look to trade Evan Mobley this offseason as their big shake-up.
Bontemps arrived at this conclusion by acknowledging that, since the Cavs aren't likely to trade Donovan Mitchell, and since they are also reportedly committed to re-signing James Harden, Mobley stands out as the only asset that could land the Cavs a player potentially better than Mitchell, which -- according to Bontemps -- is the only path for Cleveland to actually improve upon their current situation in the way that Gilbert described.
Bontemps was pretty spot-on here. While there are ways for the Cavs to marginally improve (while keeping Mitchell as their best player), it's totally accurate to say that Cleveland's "next step" toward being a true contender would look like making Mitchell a Robin to some other Batman that they acquire via trade, possibly in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Neither Donovan Mitchell nor Evan Mobley are good enough to be the alpha on a title team
In a perfect world for Gilbert's Cavs, they'd be able to retain both Mitchell and Mobley and bring in Giannis (or another superstar who is better than Mitchell), but that's just not realistic, not with Cleveland paying Mitchell and Mobley a combined $100.2 million next season. One of them must go, and if you're looking to win now (which Gilbert's tweet did indicate), it would make more sense to keep rolling with Mitchell over Mobley, as Donovan is still the better player, being in his prime.
If Cleveland were interested in a rebuild situation, the opposite would be true -- the 24-year-old Mobley would be your guy. But if the Cavs are seriously going to re-up on Harden's deal, that signals that they are committing to a two-year window or so. There's no rebuild happening quite yet in Cleveland under Gilbert's watch, for better or worse.
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