Ever since the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Evan Mobley in 2021, expectations have followed. He’s racked up the accolades from Defensive Player of the Year to All-NBA to All-Star and he has consistently been one of the NBA’s elite defenders.
But there has been that sense of wanting more from Mobley. He was drawing Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh comparisons. After a banner year in 2025, he was expected to take another jump in 2026, but he was inconsistent throughout the year. The good thing was though that he showed up in big moments and was one of Cleveland’s most consistent postseason performers.
That hasn’t stopped Mobley from being in trade rumors, whether its for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jaylen Brown. The Cavs have rebuffed them at every turn and say they view Mobley as a franchise pillar. But one thing has to change.
The Cavs need to put their money where their mouth is with Evan Mobley this season
Mobley hasn’t been able to put it together offensively yet, at least not consistently. He has been around 18 points per game over the last two seasons, but his year he struggled from the perimeter. He was able to turn it around in the playoffs and was dominant in the paint as well, but again, there has to be more.
Mobley has definitely improved offensively, as both a finisher and playmaker. At times though, it just feels like he is an afterthought in Cleveland’s offense and that has to change. That will help him develop consistency on that end.
It’s hard to keep a rhythm if the ball isn’t finding you. That falls on the shoulders of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and even Kenny Atkinson. The guards have to prioritize feeding Mobley and Atkinson has to scheme up more ways for him to score and playmake.
The Cavs had a lot of success offensively with Mobley operating as an offensive hub. His basketball IQ is one of the best parts about his game and that needs to be celebrated more within the offense.
There were multiple instance throughout the playoffs where Mobley showed he is ready to meet the moment. There’s the last three games of the Raptors series, where he averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds. There’s the Pistons series, where he averaged 18/8/5 and completely neutralized Jalen Duren and shut down the paint for Detroit’s offense. His conference finals against the Knicks wasn’t bad, but nothing to write home about given the fact that Cleveland got boatraced.
The bottom line is when the Cavs prioritize Mobley offensively, they are more successful. You can’t say you view someone as a pillar and then have games where he’s shut out of the offense. They don’t want to trade him for a win-now star and that is the right decision. Now it’s about backing that stance up.
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