Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley Gets Put on Notice by NBA Analyst

Cleveland Cavaliers star Evan Mobley was put on notice by NBA analyst Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report. 

Bailey said Mobley has to get better offensively. 

"Cleveland has been waiting for this for years. And though Evan Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who'd classify him as a superstar," Bailey wrote. "He'll need to get there if the Cavs will have a real shot at beating the Knicks, Boston Celtics or even Indiana Pacers in the playoffs next season.

"The likeliest path to that outcome probably includes tons of time working on his outside shot and other perimeter skills. If he comes back as the same, mid-volume, largely short-range offensive threat, it's hard to imagine Cleveland being much better."

Mobley has been with the Cavaliers since 2021. He holds career averages of 16.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. The USC product won the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Award. 

“We are very fortunate to have drafted Evan Mobley in a spectacular rookie class,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said during exit interviews. “You think about that rookie class, right? Cade Cunningham, right? MVP candidate. Scottie Barnes, who has emerged to be one of the best players in the NBA. We saw that for seven games. That was not fun. Franz Wagner. Evan Mobley. That’s a spectacular class, and out of those guys, who’s the first to the conference finals? Evan Mobley. We have to take pride in that. It’s easy to knock someone down. He’s a franchise-caliber player, and we’re very fortunate to have him.”

The Cavaliers still believe Mobley can be a superstar. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, some members of the Cavs are "vehemently against" trading Mobley for Milwaukee Bucks legend Giannis Antetokounmpo.  

The Cavaliers made the Eastern Conference Finals this year for the first time since 2018. They lost to the New York Knicks in four games. 

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are expected to part ways this summer. Milwaukee would ask for Mobley in trade talks with Cleveland. 

Most people who cover the NBA expect the Cavaliers to run it back next season with Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Jarrett Allen. Whether that's the right decision or not is up for debate. 

"I always say two things can be true — we hated the way it ended, we were disappointed with the way it ended," Altman said during his exit interview. "I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations. We’ve built this thing to a level of standards of excellence, and we know we could be better.

“But the other thing that could be true is we could be proud of what we’ve accomplished here and be proud of what we’ve built — a very, very strong foundation. We believe in the culture that we built. We believe in the players that we have in-house. We have incredible ownership with great resources that helps us achieve in every aspect of this really difficult game that we’re in.”

If Mobley doesn't play like a superstar next season, the Cavaliers will regret not trading him to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, who is already a superstar of the highest order. 

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