Evan Mobley -- Centerpiece of the Cavalier Rebuild?

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Revenged25]

Obviously. IMO he's the type of player that the Cavs should be willing and ready to trade any and everyone else on the roster to ensure he has the best fits around him. But of course you don't make a trade where you accept less than a players worth due to a slightly better fit of another player.

[Jamaaliver]

It's clear that Cavs are investing greatly in a Jarrett-Mobley front court pairing. And against Embiid, Sabonis, Vucevic, Capela...that's understandable.

But I think a Mobley-Okoro pairing in like 3 years is the more intriguing duo.

Mobley as small ball Center should be a really tough matchup once he gets some muscle added to his frame.

[KuruptedCav]

That’s the anticipated Garland/Okoro/Mobley tripod; but it is to be seen the direction Mobley develops.


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[JonFromVA]

It's clear that Cavs are investing greatly in a Jarrett-Mobley front court pairing. And against Embiid, Sabonis, Vucevic, Capela...that's understandable.

But I think a Mobley-Okoro pairing in like 3 years is the more intriguing duo.

Mobley as small ball Center should be a really tough matchup once he gets some muscle added to his frame.

It's nice to have options, but he may very well be one of those players who never feels comfortable being called a C or playing a traditional C role. Kevin Love always hated playing small ball C and he weighed in a 251 lbs. Anthony Davis is up to 253lb and still resists playing C. Mobley is going to get bigger, but what if he settles in around 230 to 235 in his prime?

Something nice for a change is not hearing the Cavs getting blasted for drafting Mobley when they intended to keep Allen.

[jbk1234]

It's clear that Cavs are investing greatly in a Jarrett-Mobley front court pairing. And against Embiid, Sabonis, Vucevic, Capela...that's understandable.

But I think a Mobley-Okoro pairing in like 3 years is the more intriguing duo.

Mobley as small ball Center should be a really tough matchup once he gets some muscle added to his frame.

It's nice to have options, but he may very well be one of those players who never feels comfortable being called a C or playing a traditional C role. Kevin Love always hated playing small ball C and he weighed in a 251 lbs. Anthony Davis is up to 253lb and still resists playing C. Mobley is going to get bigger, but what if he settles in around 230 to 235 in his prime?

Something nice for a change is not hearing the Cavs getting blasted for drafting Mobley when they intended to keep Allen.

Add KP, Zion, Giannis, etc., etc.

The league is littered with guys who could play center but don't want to.

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

I do think Evan is going to need a top end playmaker early on to feed him easy buckets as he deals with the speed and physicality of the NBA.

Preferably an unselfish veteran.

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[JonFromVA]

Mobley is going to have a defensive impact as a rookie; but the devil is in the details. Will he get confused by team defensive schemes? Will he get picked on physically?

His defensive instincts look very-very promising. All defensive team as a rook is a possibility depending on those other factors

[Jamaaliver]

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[JonFromVA]

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I watched some Durant tape from his first pro game, and gotta say Mobley sure isn't there; but is it worth finding out if he can get close? Oh, yes. Especially with his defensive ability.

[JonFromVA]

I just hope Cavs fans can manage to be patient. We got our wish ... a shot at a franchise player, but Mobley is going to take a lot of time to get there and the Cavs have struggled for decades now trying to figure out how to make a big man look good in our offense.

Rubio's experience running an offense featuring skilled big men will be very welcome. It's nice to see Altman out in front of something before it becomes a problem for a change.

[Jamaaliver]

Grading Every Top NBA Rookie at 2021 Las Vegas Summer League

Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers, PF/C)



Positives
Versatility sets Evan Mobley apart from most bigs, and his reputation held up in Las Vegas. He flashed a little of everything through three games before being shut down, including face-up play that's just different for a 7-footer.

He converted on pull-ups and drives from the arc and elbows. He showcased his touch on one-handers and fallaways in the paint. And he reminded us of his playmaking potential for a big, racking up six assists against the Orlando Magic, more than No. 2 pick Jalen Green had in three games. Mobley delivered some high-level passes from the top of the key, an area where he figures to have the most success with his mid-range touch and ability to find teammates.

Though a lack of strength is an obvious weakness now, Mobley did try to play through contact, at one point bullying No. 16 pick Alperen Sengun on a dunk after catching an offensive board in traffic.

He also flashed his all-world defensive potential by sliding with guards, covering ground, anticipating shots and using his monster wingspan to contest.

Negatives
Mobley shot an ugly 34.9 percent from the floor, with his lack of lower-body power becoming exposed on back-to-the-basket possessions. His struggles on post-ups at USC carried over to Las Vegas, where he had trouble moving defenders back or gaining position. He was forced to fall away or take awkward shots too often. Mobley, who had 10 turnovers (three games) and an underwhelming 12.0 rebounding percentage, could be stronger with the ball.

His shot looks promising, particularly around the elbows and short corners. And he can occasionally hit the pick-and-pop three. But he still missed seven of eight attempts from behind the arc and doesn't look ready to start regularly threatening defenses from deep.

Grade: B

Bleacher Report

[JonFromVA]

It could be really depressing if we force Mobley to create his own shot like he often tried to do in Summer League. Rubio may be a "press in case of emergency" option if Garland can't figure out how to integrate him in the offense.

The question is in that case, who would be coming off the bench?

Playing .vs. backups with Rubio setting him up could very well benefit Evan depending in which areas he's struggling, but if we give him the LeBron-treatment as our "franchise player" asking Garland or Sexton to come off the bench may be the move.

[Jamaaliver]

An excerpt from The Athletic

Summer league rookie scouting reports

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers

In terms of what performance at summer league says about long-term potential, I think it means less for Mobley than it does for any of the top five prospects. He’s just so clearly not quite there yet physically, or strong enough to deal with this level of professional competition. Mobley is incredibly skilled, but his frame makes him more of a long-term project than any of the others. He got bullied inside at an unsurprising level and struggled a bit. On drives to the rim, players smaller than him had very few issues displacing him. It’s going to be tough for at least the first part of Mobley’s rookie season. The most important thing Mobley can do long-term is put on weight and get stronger. In some vein, this year will just be about getting him acclimated to that level of physicality.

But I don’t really think that matters, because once he gets stronger, we saw some of the flashes that make him one of the most intriguing big men on planet earth. There were multiple moments where Mobley, as a legitimate seven-footer with all sorts of length and dexterity, attacked closeouts from the corner with two dribbles, took off and dunked from, like, 10 feet away from the rim. He threw some impressive passes on the move, in addition to the passes we know he can make at the elbows and in dribble-hand-off actions. He made a few jumpers with a more fluid-looking shot from midrange than he had in college. Defensively, at least as much as one can at an all-offense event like summer league, he showed some of the mobility on the perimeter and instinctual awareness as a shot-blocker that the Cavaliers hoped they were drafting.

In terms of past performances from skinny bigs who were high draft picks at their first summer league, Mobley’s 11.3 points, eight rebounds and two blocks aren’t really all that different from guys like Jaren Jackson (11.2 points, eight rebounds, four blocks per game), Jonathan Isaac (10.3/8/1.7) and Kristaps Porzingis (10.5/3.3/1.7). All of those guys have turned out just fine for different reasons, and I’d anticipate the same with Mobley.

[JonFromVA]

An excerpt from The Athletic

Summer league rookie scouting reports

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers

In terms of what performance at summer league says about long-term potential, I think it means less for Mobley than it does for any of the top five prospects. He’s just so clearly not quite there yet physically, or strong enough to deal with this level of professional competition. Mobley is incredibly skilled, but his frame makes him more of a long-term project than any of the others. He got bullied inside at an unsurprising level and struggled a bit. On drives to the rim, players smaller than him had very few issues displacing him. It’s going to be tough for at least the first part of Mobley’s rookie season. The most important thing Mobley can do long-term is put on weight and get stronger. In some vein, this year will just be about getting him acclimated to that level of physicality.

But I don’t really think that matters, because once he gets stronger, we saw some of the flashes that make him one of the most intriguing big men on planet earth. There were multiple moments where Mobley, as a legitimate seven-footer with all sorts of length and dexterity, attacked closeouts from the corner with two dribbles, took off and dunked from, like, 10 feet away from the rim. He threw some impressive passes on the move, in addition to the passes we know he can make at the elbows and in dribble-hand-off actions. He made a few jumpers with a more fluid-looking shot from midrange than he had in college. Defensively, at least as much as one can at an all-offense event like summer league, he showed some of the mobility on the perimeter and instinctual awareness as a shot-blocker that the Cavaliers hoped they were drafting.

In terms of past performances from skinny bigs who were high draft picks at their first summer league, Mobley’s 11.3 points, eight rebounds and two blocks aren’t really all that different from guys like Jaren Jackson (11.2 points, eight rebounds, four blocks per game), Jonathan Isaac (10.3/8/1.7) and Kristaps Porzingis (10.5/3.3/1.7). All of those guys have turned out just fine for different reasons, and I’d anticipate the same with Mobley.

It's typically a mistake to try to draw conclusions from 3 Summer league games and Mobley doesn't have to score on post-ups or ISO's from the 3pt circle to have a successful rookie season. If his defense is as legit as it looks and his passing/IQ are good to go, he'll do fine being little more than a 7-foot target on offense.

In other words, that lack of guard play that makes things hard on big men in Summer league is also what could mask his lack of strength and offensive refinement in the regular season.

If he can knock down open mid-range jumpers, he goes up a notch. If he can bury an open 3pter he goes up a notch. If he can post-up smaller defenders who switch on him he goes up again. Lots of steps on the path, but he doesn't have to deliver on all of them as a rook.

Anthony Davis and Chris Bosh weren't lighting the league on fire as rooks.

[Jamaaliver]

I’m curious. Are you in favor of throwing him into the fire, even with the size disadvantage? Or are you onboard with bringing him along slowly at the start of the season?

It's typically a mistake to try to draw conclusions from 3 Summer league games and Mobley doesn't have to score on post-ups or ISO's from the 3pt circle to have a successful rookie season. If his defense is as legit as it looks and his passing/IQ are good to go, he'll do fine being little more than a 7-foot target on offense.

In other words, that lack of guard play that makes things hard on big men in Summer league is also what could mask his lack of strength and offensive refinement in the regular season.

If he can knock down open mid-range jumpers, he goes up a notch. If he can bury an open 3pter he goes up a notch. If he can post-up smaller defenders who switch on him he goes up again. Lots of steps on the path, but he doesn't have to deliver on all of them as a rook.

Anthony Davis and Chris Bosh weren't lighting the league on fire as rooks.

[JonFromVA]

I’m curious. Are you in favor of throwing him into the fire, even with the size disadvantage? Or are you onboard with bringing him along slowly at the start of the season?

He's been practicing with one of the strongest C's in the league:

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There's a lot more time to figure out what's best for Evan, but the plan seems to be to start him at PF. Rookie's typically struggle on defense regardless of size/strength. I think Evan's length, mobility, and smarts will help compensate for his liabilities. Knowing shots in the paint will be contested strongly (if not blocked) by Allen or Mobley may even give our defense an identity allowing the wings to defend closer.

Offensively we have a wild card in Rubio and how we deploy him is tbd, but we will be watching to see how much better Mobley is utilized when Rubio is on the floor .vs. our young guards.

Another wild card is Kevin Love. Nobody has any expectations for him at this point, but if Mobley struggles and Love (or Nance Jr) plays great the Cavs may have a tough choice, but given how bad the Cavs have been recently it shouldn't be too tough of a choice.

This might had been the season the Cavs stopped shoving lottery picks in the starting lineup, but every thing changed when we got #3.