Evan Mobley -- Centerpiece of the Cavalier Rebuild?

[JonFromVA]

Fedor and/or the people he quoted were really piling it on Evan in this piece:

https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2022/10/an-nba-championship-for-the-cavs-hall-of-fame-evan-mobley-is-chasing-greatness-and-he-wants-it-all.html

While I'm perfectly fine if Evan develops in to a HOF/franchise player that can lead us to championships, to say that's our only path or to even pile that all on to him disturbs me.

We literally just saw Steph Curry win his second championship and first finals MVP without Kevin Durant, and while we may not have Steph on our team - we have two of the best shooters/scorers/passers in our back-court.

I'm not really sure we need Evan to do a lot more than become a viable floor spacer and fill out our depth if Garland and Mitchell pair well and continue to improve; but I also don't want to see him pigeon-holed, so, if it takes some hyperbole and dreams to make sure that doesn't happen, it's all good.

I definitely want Mobley to become a perennial all-NBA player, but I agree that I don’t think he needs to get there ever (especially offensively) for us to be legit contenders soon. He already brings incredibly impactful defense and this will most likely get even better. Adding some spacing impact would immediately increase his value as well, as you said.

I think we are set-up well in case Mobley is not that guy. Though, currently I do think he is that guy. He’s 21 so we have some time to figure that part out.

Evan had a lot of advantages in his development (dad is a coach, playing against his older brother) and I think that's a big part of why his defense is so advanced for his age - but obviously not the only reason.

He's also only 2 months younger than when Tim Duncan played his first game as a rookie after spending 4 years at Wake, so, when comp'ing him to a HOF'er like TD ... well .. the clock starts ticking now.

[Jamaaliver]

This young man is developing nicely...

Read on Twitter

[JujitsuFlip]

Top 3 defender in year 2?

[JonFromVA]

Top 3 defender in year 2?

Possibly DPOY in year 2 if the feeling that JJJ hasn't played enough minutes and/or fouls too much continues to spread.

Best defender on the best defensive team has always been the best credential for the voters.

[yoyoboy]

He can still the youngest DPOY winner in history next season as well, so if he doesn’t win this year, it’s okay.

[toooskies]

I'm just glad the DPOY push has solidified his spot on an all-defense team.

[ijspeelman]

Read on Twitter

Glad he got the recognition he deserves!

[TheLand13]

This now makes Mobley the youngest player to ever make the all defensive team, let alone first.

His development as a player has been insane so far. Yeah his playoff debut was very subpar, but what he's been able to do so far as a player has been off the charts and well beyond what I was expecting from him. If he can be a regular 20 PPG scorer, he's an easy MVP candidate for years to come.

[JujitsuFlip]

Good for him, still very young.

[JonFromVA]

This now makes Mobley the youngest player to ever make the all defensive team, let alone first.

His development as a player has been insane so far. Yeah his playoff debut was very subpar, but what he's been able to do so far as a player has been off the charts and well beyond what I was expecting from him. If he can be a regular 20 PPG scorer, he's an easy MVP candidate for years to come.

If Evan is that guy, look for him to stabilize his hook shots and short jumper next season and start delivering at a 20 ppg per 36 rate, otherwise time is starting to slip on him.

We still don't know where his physical evolution will go, but adding strength/confidence is already helping him out; and I take this as a given.

Lobs, dunks, and put backs are part of every 7fters game but we'll truly have another weapon when we just need to get Evan the ball and he's able to create offense consistently on his own.

[TheLand13]

This now makes Mobley the youngest player to ever make the all defensive team, let alone first.

His development as a player has been insane so far. Yeah his playoff debut was very subpar, but what he's been able to do so far as a player has been off the charts and well beyond what I was expecting from him. If he can be a regular 20 PPG scorer, he's an easy MVP candidate for years to come.

If Evan is that guy, look for him to stabilize his hook shots and short jumper next season and start delivering at a 20 ppg per 36 rate, otherwise time is starting to slip on him.

We still don't know where his physical evolution will go, but adding strength/confidence is already helping him out; and I take this as a given.

Lobs, dunks, and put backs are part of every 7fters game but we'll truly have another weapon when we just need to get Evan the ball and he's able to create offense consistently on his own.

I don’t see Mobley becoming a 20 PPG player until Mitchell is gone from the team, unless Garland is willing to take the third option role. I think that isn’t a good idea though as Garland is far too talented of a scorer to be taking a backseat to anyone who isn’t an all NBA player mostly due to their scoring.

I’ll be looking for Mobley to make two big adjustments: improving his jumper and putting on extra muscle. He’s already so good in many aspects of the game that it’s insane that we’re narrowing it down to two things for a 21 year old. Normally someone at that age has a wide variety of things they need to work on but his game is surprisingly polished.

I’m hoping Mobley can at least get that three point percentage up to 30% and the FT% to 70%. If he can manage that next season to go along with 18 PPG, we’re making a hell of a lot of progress here.

Either way, I couldn’t be more happy with him. I never thought he’d be a DPOY finalist and first team all defense in his second season, but here we are.

[JonFromVA]

This now makes Mobley the youngest player to ever make the all defensive team, let alone first.

His development as a player has been insane so far. Yeah his playoff debut was very subpar, but what he's been able to do so far as a player has been off the charts and well beyond what I was expecting from him. If he can be a regular 20 PPG scorer, he's an easy MVP candidate for years to come.

If Evan is that guy, look for him to stabilize his hook shots and short jumper next season and start delivering at a 20 ppg per 36 rate, otherwise time is starting to slip on him.

We still don't know where his physical evolution will go, but adding strength/confidence is already helping him out; and I take this as a given.

Lobs, dunks, and put backs are part of every 7fters game but we'll truly have another weapon when we just need to get Evan the ball and he's able to create offense consistently on his own.

I don’t see Mobley becoming a 20 PPG player until Mitchell is gone from the team, unless Garland is willing to take the third option role. I think that isn’t a good idea though as Garland is far too talented of a scorer to be taking a backseat to anyone who isn’t an all NBA player mostly due to their scoring.

I’ll be looking for Mobley to make two big adjustments: improving his jumper and putting on extra muscle. He’s already so good in many aspects of the game that it’s insane that we’re narrowing it down to two things for a 21 year old. Normally someone at that age has a wide variety of things they need to work on but his game is surprisingly polished.

I’m hoping Mobley can at least get that three point percentage up to 30% and the FT% to 70%. If he can manage that next season to go along with 18 PPG, we’re making a hell of a lot of progress here.

Either way, I couldn’t be more happy with him. I never thought he’d be a DPOY finalist and first team all defense in his second season, but here we are.

fwiw, I intentionally didn't say 20ppg (unless JBB pushes his minutes up to 36pg). What I want to see are some consistent scoring moves that work for him in most situations. He'll be 22 next season and that's an age where offensive bigs typically show higher volume scoring ability.

His shot attempts will take care of themselves if he's actually producing consistently.

[TheLand13]

If Evan is that guy, look for him to stabilize his hook shots and short jumper next season and start delivering at a 20 ppg per 36 rate, otherwise time is starting to slip on him.

We still don't know where his physical evolution will go, but adding strength/confidence is already helping him out; and I take this as a given.

Lobs, dunks, and put backs are part of every 7fters game but we'll truly have another weapon when we just need to get Evan the ball and he's able to create offense consistently on his own.

I don’t see Mobley becoming a 20 PPG player until Mitchell is gone from the team, unless Garland is willing to take the third option role. I think that isn’t a good idea though as Garland is far too talented of a scorer to be taking a backseat to anyone who isn’t an all NBA player mostly due to their scoring.

I’ll be looking for Mobley to make two big adjustments: improving his jumper and putting on extra muscle. He’s already so good in many aspects of the game that it’s insane that we’re narrowing it down to two things for a 21 year old. Normally someone at that age has a wide variety of things they need to work on but his game is surprisingly polished.

I’m hoping Mobley can at least get that three point percentage up to 30% and the FT% to 70%. If he can manage that next season to go along with 18 PPG, we’re making a hell of a lot of progress here.

Either way, I couldn’t be more happy with him. I never thought he’d be a DPOY finalist and first team all defense in his second season, but here we are.

fwiw, I intentionally didn't say 20ppg (unless JBB pushes his minutes up to 36pg). What I want to see are some consistent scoring moves that work for him in most situations. He'll be 22 next season and that's an age where offensive bigs typically show higher volume scoring ability.

His shot attempts will take care of themselves if he's actually producing consistently.

His tear drop is a pretty consistent go to for him that has produced good results, but I agree. I do want to see some more out of him in that regard and hopefully that ends up being the case.

[JonFromVA]

I don’t see Mobley becoming a 20 PPG player until Mitchell is gone from the team, unless Garland is willing to take the third option role. I think that isn’t a good idea though as Garland is far too talented of a scorer to be taking a backseat to anyone who isn’t an all NBA player mostly due to their scoring.

I’ll be looking for Mobley to make two big adjustments: improving his jumper and putting on extra muscle. He’s already so good in many aspects of the game that it’s insane that we’re narrowing it down to two things for a 21 year old. Normally someone at that age has a wide variety of things they need to work on but his game is surprisingly polished.

I’m hoping Mobley can at least get that three point percentage up to 30% and the FT% to 70%. If he can manage that next season to go along with 18 PPG, we’re making a hell of a lot of progress here.

Either way, I couldn’t be more happy with him. I never thought he’d be a DPOY finalist and first team all defense in his second season, but here we are.

fwiw, I intentionally didn't say 20ppg (unless JBB pushes his minutes up to 36pg). What I want to see are some consistent scoring moves that work for him in most situations. He'll be 22 next season and that's an age where offensive bigs typically show higher volume scoring ability.

His shot attempts will take care of themselves if he's actually producing consistently.

His tear drop is a pretty consistent go to for him that has produced good results, but I agree. I do want to see some more out of him in that regard and hopefully that ends up being the case.

Yep, a reliable 3pter is the dream, but a more consistent tear drop, short hook/jumper, face up game, some high post hub ... it's all good but more than flashes. Time to weaponize some of this ... if he's truly on the path to become an offensive star.

Which is not to say I'd be unhappy if he doesn't take that step, it's just that we may need to accept his ceiling probably isn't as high as we hoped.

His defensive potential, otoh, is still looking very bright.

[TheLand13]

fwiw, I intentionally didn't say 20ppg (unless JBB pushes his minutes up to 36pg). What I want to see are some consistent scoring moves that work for him in most situations. He'll be 22 next season and that's an age where offensive bigs typically show higher volume scoring ability.

His shot attempts will take care of themselves if he's actually producing consistently.

His tear drop is a pretty consistent go to for him that has produced good results, but I agree. I do want to see some more out of him in that regard and hopefully that ends up being the case.

Yep, a reliable 3pter is the dream, but a more consistent tear drop, short hook/jumper, face up game, some high post hub ... it's all good but more than flashes. Time to weaponize some of this ... if he's truly on the path to become an offensive star.

Which is not to say I'd be unhappy if he doesn't take that step, it's just that we may need to accept his ceiling probably isn't as high as we hoped.

His defensive potential, otoh, is still looking very bright.

I think his offensive ceiling is definitely as high as we think. He’s already shown enough to the point where us thinking so is justified.

Whether or not he reaches that is another story entirely.

[JonFromVA]

His tear drop is a pretty consistent go to for him that has produced good results, but I agree. I do want to see some more out of him in that regard and hopefully that ends up being the case.

Yep, a reliable 3pter is the dream, but a more consistent tear drop, short hook/jumper, face up game, some high post hub ... it's all good but more than flashes. Time to weaponize some of this ... if he's truly on the path to become an offensive star.

Which is not to say I'd be unhappy if he doesn't take that step, it's just that we may need to accept his ceiling probably isn't as high as we hoped.

His defensive potential, otoh, is still looking very bright.

I think his offensive ceiling is definitely as high as we think. He’s already shown enough to the point where us thinking so is justified.

Whether or not he reaches that is another story entirely.

Mobley is not bound by history, but I think we need to be to some extent; and I'm just having a hard time finding a great offensive big who didn't hit 20 pp36 by the age of 21/22. If we want to argue that Evan has been disadvantaged for various reasons, that's cool, but surely he's not the first big to join a good team? So, there should be a comparable.

[ijspeelman]

Yep, a reliable 3pter is the dream, but a more consistent tear drop, short hook/jumper, face up game, some high post hub ... it's all good but more than flashes. Time to weaponize some of this ... if he's truly on the path to become an offensive star.

Which is not to say I'd be unhappy if he doesn't take that step, it's just that we may need to accept his ceiling probably isn't as high as we hoped.

His defensive potential, otoh, is still looking very bright.

I think his offensive ceiling is definitely as high as we think. He’s already shown enough to the point where us thinking so is justified.

Whether or not he reaches that is another story entirely.

Mobley is not bound by history, but I think we need to be to some extent; and I'm just having a hard time finding a great offensive big who didn't hit 20 pp36 by the age of 21/22. If we want to argue that Evan has been disadvantaged for various reasons, that's cool, but surely he's not the first big to join a good team? So, there should be a comparable.

I would honestly be impressed with anything near 18/36 if he can get there next season. His flashes are great, but the reality is that there is still a lot of polishing to be done with his post-up game, jump shot, and drive game. If he get one of these down, he should be a reliable 18/36 guy, if he can get 2/3 he is a perennial all-star, and if he can get all three... sky's the limit. I just don't trust the jump shot enough to put stock in it.

[JujitsuFlip]

I think his offensive ceiling is definitely as high as we think. He’s already shown enough to the point where us thinking so is justified.

Whether or not he reaches that is another story entirely.

Mobley is not bound by history, but I think we need to be to some extent; and I'm just having a hard time finding a great offensive big who didn't hit 20 pp36 by the age of 21/22. If we want to argue that Evan has been disadvantaged for various reasons, that's cool, but surely he's not the first big to join a good team? So, there should be a comparable.

I would honestly be impressed with anything near 18/36 if he can get there next season. His flashes are great, but the reality is that there is still a lot of polishing to be done with his post-up game, jump shot, and drive game. If he get one of these down, he should be a reliable 18/36 guy, if he can get 2/3 he is a perennial all-star, and if he can get all three... sky's the limit. I just don't trust the jump shot enough to put stock in it.

I don't think Mobley even trusts his jumper, lol

[JonFromVA]

I think his offensive ceiling is definitely as high as we think. He’s already shown enough to the point where us thinking so is justified.

Whether or not he reaches that is another story entirely.

Mobley is not bound by history, but I think we need to be to some extent; and I'm just having a hard time finding a great offensive big who didn't hit 20 pp36 by the age of 21/22. If we want to argue that Evan has been disadvantaged for various reasons, that's cool, but surely he's not the first big to join a good team? So, there should be a comparable.

I would honestly be impressed with anything near 18/36 if he can get there next season. His flashes are great, but the reality is that there is still a lot of polishing to be done with his post-up game, jump shot, and drive game. If he get one of these down, he should be a reliable 18/36 guy, if he can get 2/3 he is a perennial all-star, and if he can get all three... sky's the limit. I just don't trust the jump shot enough to put stock in it.

If he wants it enough, he can continue to improve and add stuff to his game throughout his career; but some of the pie in the sky stuff like that he might have the offensive upside of a KD, Giannis, Timmy, etc, needs to logically (if not emotionally) be dismissed if he can't track with their progress.

One of the biggies for Evan has always been for him to get physically stronger, and I expect another bump in that area next season. How many more bumps will we see after that? Hard to say, he may always have a thin build and not fill out as much as AD or Giannis.

[JujitsuFlip]

Why didn't they ever announce he had successful surgery or has he still not went under the knife?