Evan Mobley, Cavaliers Expected To Agree To Max Extension This Offseason

According to NBA reporter Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Evan Mobley and the Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to agree to a max extension this offseason. 

Mobley is eligible to sign a rookie-scale extension. 

“My crystal ball says the Cavaliers are going to offer him a max extension, and he’s going to take it,” Fedor said on The HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto. “I think you hit on it. He hasn’t played to that level yet, but there’s so much belief in Evan as a person and him as a player inside this organization. They’ve been very public about it, praising him and him being the man eventually as a unicorn and all these things since they drafted him third overall in 2021. They understand that he’s already one of the elite defensive players in the NBA. That’s already where he’s at, and they believe he can get to a point offensively where he becomes the unicorn type of player they’ve talked about him being since he came into the NBA.

“I don’t think the Cavaliers are going to hesitate to offer him the max extension. The Cavaliers project him to be one of the most important players in the organization for a number of years to come and project him to be one of the elite two-way big men at the four or five for years to come.”

Mobley averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocks for the Cavaliers this season while shooting 58.0% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 71.9% from the free-throw line. 

A California native, Mobley has career averages of 15.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.5 blocks. He’s established himself as one of the best defenders in the NBA. 

According to NBA insiders Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Mobley‘s representation cautioned the Cavaliers not to draft him.

Cleveland still drafted Mobley with the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

“Interestingly, Mobley’s representation, Wasserman, cautioned the Cavs prior to the 2021 draft not to select Mobley, league sources said,” Charania, Vardon and Lloyd wrote. “It is a common draft strategy among agents in an effort to get players to certain teams — in this instance, Oklahoma City. The Thunder made multiple offers for the Cavs’ No. 3 pick in the draft that year, league sources said. But the Cavs selected Mobley anyway, and the relationship has remained healthy and positive.”