Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell: No doubt Evan Mobley will take another leap

Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has already seen Evan Mobley become an NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He doesn’t think Mobley is finished getting better.

“I have no doubt he is gonna take the jump that people are waiting for,” Mitchell said during an appearance on Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady. “He’s young. He’s going to take that leap.”

Mitchell was responding to McGrady, who suggested Mobley had somewhat of an off year after showing considerable growth previously.

Mitchell pushed back on that idea, noting that Mobley has been part of winning basketball since arriving in Cleveland and arguing that people tend to get impatient waiting for young players to develop.

That’s a pretty strong endorsement from the face of the Cavs. It’s also an important part of where Cleveland goes from here.

The Cavs finally broke through to the Eastern Conference finals last season, though the path wasn’t exactly smooth. They needed seven games in each of the first two rounds before being swept by the eventual champion Knicks.

Mitchell acknowledged during the same podcast appearance that Cleveland deserved criticism for how its season ended.

Now the Cavs are running it back with James Harden on a new deal while making some changes around the edges. Max Strus is gone, with Peyton Watson arriving in the trade with Denver and expected to help immediately.

But Mobley remains one of the biggest reasons to believe Cleveland can take another step.

He’s already one of the NBA’s premier defenders. If Mitchell is right and there’s another leap coming, the Cavs might have another level in them, too.