The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering a pivotal offseason that should involve a major shakeup, even if head coach Kenny Atkinson disagrees. If you're willing to face the facts, Cleveland was thoroughly outclassed by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals (due to the Cavaliers' perimeter defense issues, among other problems), and Cleveland was also lucky to reach the ECF in the first place.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert put out a fascinating statement on social media following the team's elimination. It was an apology to fans but also contained language suggesting that Cleveland is about to make some big moves this summer. Some interpreted Gibert's words as a harbinger of Evan Mobley's imminent departure.
If the Cavs trade Evan Mobley, it'll be for a generational player (and no one else)
Here's the thing about trading Mobley. While the idea should absolutely not be ignored by Cleveland's front office, there's no point in trading Mobley (rather than retaining him and retooling around the 24-year-old) unless the Cavs can get a player in a Mobley trade who is not only better than Mobley but better than Donovan Mitchell.
You see, the issue with Cleveland's ceiling in the East right now is that it only extends as high as Mitchell can reach, and it's been proven that he's not good enough to lead this team (as the alpha) to an NBA Finals. He's certainly not good enough to win a Finals once there, either, not against the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, who are only getting closer to their primes as rosters with each passing year.
To get closer to contention, the Cavs would have to acquire an alpha who is better than Mitchell. Conveniently, there happens to be one such player available this summer in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Only a Giannis trade would make sense for the Cavs to move on from Evan Mobley
Giannis and only Giannis (of the guys available) might convince the Cavs that trading Mobley is a wise move. ESPN's Brian Windhorst talked about this in the past few days.
"The Cavs drafted Evan Mobley to hopefully become Giannis," Windhorst said during a new episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. "Would they pass on the opportunity to actually trade for Giannis?"
Windy's point is well taken, especially if the Cavs are going to stick to their plan of re-signing James Harden this summer. Doing so would be doubling down on a "win now" philosophy for Cleveland that would align better with Giannis than it would with Mobley.
Add us as a preferred source on Google