The Cleveland Cavaliers had one job in the 2021 NBA Draft. They did it and walked away with a unicorn in Evan Mobley. With Mobley on deck, the Cavs have an opportunity to pair him with Jarrett Allen, forming a young and menacing defensive frontcourt. Allen is a restricted free agent but all signs point to the Cavs matching any offer the big man will receive.
Such pairing makes the Cavs froth so bad that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff couldn’t help but connect the Los Angeles Lakers’ success to the addition of Mobley.
Via Chris Fedor or Cleveland.com:
“I think history has shown us that size and skill beats small and skill.” Bickerstaff said on the heels of the Cavs drafting Evan Mobley. “If you go back just recently with the Lakers [championship] team, they had big guys and then they threw Anthony Davis at the 4 who was skilled. Their size helps, but they gotta have that skill. … If you can accumulate enough of that, you can overcome everybody wanting to go and play small-ball basketball.”
The Cavs have not had someone who possessed Evan Mobley’s skill set and physical traits. He’s drawn comparisons to Chris Bosh and Davis. In fact, several pundits consider the former USC Trojan as a top pick talent in any other draft.
Teams tried their best at the last minute to pry away the third pick from the Cavs. But the chance of acquiring a potentially generational talent such as Mobley is too hard to pass up.