NBA Rumors: Dissecting what recent reports mean for the Cleveland Cavaliers' future

The Cleveland Cavaliers gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle in their five-game second-round series, but it was not enough in the end. The Cavs were decimated by injury, with Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen all out due to injury at some point in the series.

Now, the Wine and Gold head into their most pivotal offseason since LeBron James skipped town in 2018. This organization has some crucial questions to address and answer, as the future hangs in the balance. That much was made clear in a report by The Athletic after the Cavs lost.

The bombshell dropped by Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd shed a lot of light on the situation of the Cavs and what it means for the team going forward. 

The future of the Cleveland Cavaliers faces a lot of uncertainty. Here are my thoughts on the major talking points of the report and my thoughts as to what the organization should do.

4. The Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen pairing

When the Cavs drafted Mobley in 2021, the hope was to pair him next to Allen and that would be the team’s defensive foundation. Three years later, Mobley and Allen have been the anchors of one of the best defenses in the NBA, as Cleveland finished inside the top ten in defensive rating each of the last three seasons

The problem for this duo has been the offensive end of the floor, given the fact that they are two nonshooting big men. That fatal flaw was exposed in the postseason last year against the Knicks and the five-man lineup of Garland-Mitchell-Strus-Mobley-Allen produced only a 98.4 offensive rating this postseason.

According to the report, the organization knows that the pairing is not working. 

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“There are also questions of fit on the roster to work through, such as whether Allen and Mobley, two non-shooting bigs, can co-exist in the same starting unit”.
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- The Athletic

“There are also questions of fit on the roster to work through, such as whether Allen and Mobley, two non-shooting bigs, can co-exist in the same starting unit”.

Mobley has clerly looked more comfortable at the five, given the fact that he averaged 21 points per game and nine rebounds on 63 percent shooting against the Celtics with Allen out of the lineup. He is only 22 years old and has a lot of room to grow. 

Saying goodbye to Allen would be a tough pill to swallow for the Cleveland faithful, but it needs to happen when the team has a budding star ready to take the reins. Mobley is the future of this team in the five-man spot. He showed flashes of what he can be offensively as the lone big this playoffs and his defense has remained elite. It's time to give him the keys.