The Cleveland Cavaliers saw the best version of Evan Mobley last season, but he’s just getting started.
The young power forward still has a ceiling to reach, and the team wants to unleash new layers of his game.
That’s why they want to watch him bring the ball up the court early and often next season.
According to Cavs executive Koby Altman, the Cavs will trust Mobley to lead the offense more often next season, and while that doesn’t mean he’s going to be the primary ball-handler, they want him to be a bit of a point forward at times:
“We’ve talked about Evan a lot. Evan’s going to put the ball up a lot more, and not that he’s going to be the point, but he’s going to play some point forward for us,” Altman shared with Jared Greenberg and Cavaliers legend Channing Frye.
Mobley turned plenty of heads on social media this week when a video of his latest workout went viral.
He was working on his handles, taking the ball up the court and operating in tight spaces like a guard.
Of course, no one will mistake him for Kyrie Irving, but he’s shown glimpses of solid handles and has a high basketball IQ.
Today’s positionless basketball requires all players to do a little bit of everything, and the Cavs need to feed Mobley as much as they can next season.
He took a big step as a scorer by expanding his shooting range last season, and the team might be better off building its offense around him.
Having him as an improved passer and ball-handler will also open plenty of shots up for Donovan Mitchell, as Mobley will constantly draw double teams in the post, and he should be able to find Mitchell on the perimeter.
Mobley averaged a career-high 3.2 assists per game last season, and that number should be up next year.
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