Cavs Pick Up Fourth-Year Option on Evan Mobley

UPDATE: This is official, with the Cavaliers revealing it in a press release.

In a move that’s always been considered a no-brainer, the Cavaliers have exercised their fourth-year option on power forward Evan Mobley, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, citing a source.

That means Mobley’s $11.2 million salary for 2024-25 will become guaranteed. He’ll be eligible for a rookie-scale extension after the season — and could become a restricted free agent at the end of 2025 should he and the Cavs not reach a new deal before then. That too should be a formality.

Mobley, 22, is 7-foot-0 and immediately became a major part of the Cavs’ nucleus, alongside the likes of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen and now, Donovan Mitchell as well.

No one may have had to make a bigger adjustment to Mitchell’s arrival than Mobley last season, as Mobley was a big entering just his second season and now needed to learn how to play with a second dynamic — and somewhat ball-dominant — guard.

That’s not a knock on Mobley, Mitchell or anybody, just the reality of life in the NBA. It was as if Mobley had two rookie seasons — one without Mitchell, then another with.

Now, it’s Year No. 3, and Mobley has said he expects it to be his best one yet. The rest of the Cavs are hoping for the same.

Last season, he appeared in 79 games and averaged 16.2 points and 9.0 rebounds, shooting 55 percent from the field. Those numbers were up from his rookie year, too. Along with that, he’s already regularly mentioned as one of the league’s best interior defenders.

For the Cavs, Mobley’s option was the only one that needed to be addressed this fall.