As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to maximize the talent of big man Evan Mobley, the organization reportedly recognizes that the 22-year-old’s evolution will take him to a new position at some point.
Mobley, who has played alongside center Jarrett Allen since joining the NBA, has officially been listed as a power forward in each of his three seasons with the Cavs so far. Cleveland, however, sees Mobley becoming a center in the future.
“Evan Mobley’s still here, and the Cavs believe and the Cavs know that Evan’s evolution is becoming a full-time 5 at some point,” said team insider Chris Fedor. “And I think you saw a flash of that throughout the course of the time that Jarrett missed over those final eight playoff games of Evan playing full-time 5 and what that means for the Cavs potentially and what that means for Evan potentially.”
Fedor pointed to rising stars Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren as examples of players who were in similar situations.
“Has it been holding Evan Mobley back from reaching his ceiling offensively and defensively that he’s been playing the power forward spot, that he’s been using space on the floor that is also occupied by somebody else that shares the floor with him for a majority of the game?” Fedor posed. “It’s something that the Cavs have to evaluate. It’s something that the Cavs have to ask themselves.”
With Allen missing an important stretch of games during Cleveland’s playoff run, Mobley was given an opportunity to step up, and he did, particularly against the Boston Celtics in the second round.
Mobley, starting at center in Allen’s absence, averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game against the Celtics. The Cavs fell short in the series, but Mobley’s play was certainly a bright spot.
The former No. 3 overall pick took the NBA by storm in his rookie season, immediately establishing himself as a top-notch defender and having a respectable offensive season, but his offensive growth has been slow since, and the Cavs would undoubtedly love nothing more than to see him take off on that end of the floor.
With Allen’s Cavs future in question, perhaps this will be the offseason where Mobley is officially handed the keys to Cleveland’s starting center role. Mobley and Allen have formed a nice frontcourt in many ways, but the duo has shown some flaws, including the reality that neither player can reliably shoot from deep (even if Mobley is making progress in that regard).
If the Cavs move on from Allen and switch Mobley to the 5, they could prioritize a shooting 4, which could create a world down the road where their entire starting lineup has 3-point capabilities — assuming Mobley continues to become a threat from deep. He made 37.3 percent of his triples this season but only took 1.2 per game.
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