The Cleveland Cavaliers have some of the brightest young talent in the NBA and rising fourth-year forward Evan Mobley is no exception. Mobley's growth with the Cavs is being rewarded by a lucrative contract extension.
Mobley and the Cavs have agreed on a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie contract extension that could become worth as much as $269 million, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The moves set Mobley up to continue being a long-term part of Cleveland's core. After entering the league as a high-upside, versatile defender with scoring potential, Mobley has seen tremendous growth.
Evan Mobley joined the Cavaliers in 2021 when the team selected him with the third overall pick in the draft. Mobley entered the league highly touted. He earned Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors with USC. In addition, he was a consensus All-American.
Mobley built a great foundation with the Cavs during his rookie year. He averaged 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. One year later, Mobley made a notable improvement. He averaged a career-high 16.2 points to go with 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Mobley's all-around defensive efforts earned him his first All-Defensive honor (First-Team) in 2022-23.
The 23-year-old is coming off another impressive season in 203-24. Mobley held averages of 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. Most impressively, he shot a career-high 37.3 percent on three-pointers.
Evan Mobley's all-around game is quickly developing, and the Cavs wasted no time giving a larger contract.
Evan Mobley looks to take next steps with Cavaliers
The Cavs gained new leadership during the 2024 offseason with the hiring of former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson played a major part in Jarrett Allen's development when the center played for the Nets from 2017 to 2021. Allen eventually became an All-Star and Atkinson believes Mobley has a similar fate.
“Evan will be an All-Star. I think we all know that,” Atkinson said in early July. per ClutchPoints' Cavaliers Reporter Evan Dammarell. “You’ve got four All-Stars, and we’ve got to make it work. That’s part of the reason I’m here. The talent’s there so it’s just we’re going to work on tweaking this where we maximize those guys… I love ‘em together, quite honestly.”
Atkinson believes Mobley's all-around skillset will reap massive benefits.
“He’s so multi-talented,” said Atkinson about Mobley. “That was a big part of our discussion during the process, how to get him to the next level. I think, first of all, he’s 22 years old, so he’s just naturally going to grow. That’s exciting just with the talent. But I do think we can schematically get the ball in his hands more, quite honestly.
“It’s going to be in multiple ways,” Atkinson continued. “I think when you have a guy that versatile, it could be him in transition bringing the ball up, it could be him handling in a five-out situation, or him handling in pick and roll. I think there are creative things we can do to help him.”
It will be exciting to watch Evan Mobley's growth amid his well-deserved contract extension.
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