To the surprise of not a basketball-loving soul, the Cleveland Cavaliers and forward Evan Mobley have agreed to a five-year, $269 million contract extension, agents Joe Smith and Thad Foucher told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
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This was considered a formality all offseason, and not a matter of "if" but "when." Most knewaround the NBA knew it would happen at any moment.
As Wojnarowski noted, Mobley "is one of four players with 300 blocks and 150 steals since he entered the league. Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Rudy Gobert are the others."
Mobley averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocks for the Cavaliers this past season in 50 games 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.
The Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2024 playoffs in seven games and lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round in five games. JB Bickerstaff was fired as head coach and replaced by Kenny Atkinson, who signed a five-year deal.
Cleveland is building around Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Mitchell signed a three-year max extension. A source told Hoops Wire that Mitchell privately grew tired of everyone saying he would leave the Cavaliers, who acquired the All-Star guard from the Utah Jazz in 2022.
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."
(This report originally appeared on Hoops Wire and was republished with permission.)
