Key takeaways from Kenny Atkinson's public Cleveland Cavaliers debut

The promise of Evan Mobley returns with Atkinson

While Atkinson touched on his belief in bringing the entire Cavs core to its fullest potential, one player holds the keys to Cleveland's ceiling as a team. Mobley's dominant rookie season and All-Defensive sophomore year accelerated the Cavaliers' rebuild alongside Darius Garland's breakout All-Star season. Still, Mobley has never found his rhythm or role on offense. With Cleveland's reluctance to break up their core four, Atkinson did not shy away from sharing his vision to improve Mobley's production.

After three seasons, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley has failed to reach his expected heights, but much of his sluggish development may be attributed to the past regime. Through three years, Mobley's usage rate only increased by 0.4 percent, though his offensive efficiency and overall talent steadily increased. Without an opportunity to maximize his value, the Cavs could never consistently see the best version of Mobley.

Last offseason, Koby Altman expressed an intent to put Mobley into a higher-usage role on offense, but this vision never came to fruition. Mobley's role stayed stagnant, often playing fourth fiddle as a last-second dunk option. In the latter half of the year, Mobley displayed an extended shooting range, but Bickerstaff stopped trusting Mobley's shot after a short downturn.

When asked about the offensive pace of the modern NBA, Atkinson brought Mobley to the forefront of the discussion. Atkinson praised Mobley's quickness as a seven-footer, calling him a "400-meter sprinter" and an All-Star. He said that he believes his time in Golden State will help unlock the Cavs' frontcourt.

During the Warriors' 2022 title run, they employed two non-shooting big men Draymond Green and Kevon Looney in their starting frontcourt. Rather than placing them both in the post, Golden State put the ball in Green's hands at the elbow and ran offensive sets through him as the facilitator.

With Mobley, Atkinson said he can "schematically get the ball [Mobley's] hands more" by having the 22-year-old big take the ball up in transition, handling the pick and roll and facilitating a five-out offensive set. Atkinson believes there are creative methods to maximize Mobley's multi-talented skillset rather than relegating him to a specific, undervalued role. He also specifically mentioned increasing Evan's usage, a statistic in dire need to be addressed.

With a star entering his prime and a growing young core, Kenny Atkinson takes the reins of a Cleveland Cavaliers squad ready to leap into true playoff contention. His vast experience and existing connections help establish Atkinson's spot with the Cavaliers and avoid a slow transition that could hurt the Cavs' early season run.