Recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers raised eyebrows by trading wing Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for point guard Lonzo Ball. The move gave the Cavs some additional flexibility in their backcourt as they look to retool their roster in the wake of last year’s ugly postseason exit in the second round.
The Ball acquisition raised some questions as to whether the Cavs might also look to move on from some higher profile players on their roster, but recently, ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst assured fans that that would not be the case.
“Absolutely, no question about it,” said Windhorst when asked if he thought the ‘core four’ of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen would return, per ESPN Cleveland on X. “And in fact, I think that this is a good opportunity… to put the ball more in Evan Mobley’s hands. Where Evan Mobley can lift the Cavs up is to do more offensively. He can handle the ball. He can create more, he can stress out defenses better.”
With the Mobley statement, Windhorst was referring to the Cavs’ recent departure of Okoro, which in theory would give Mobley more opportunities with the rock, especially at this stage of Lonzo Ball’s career as more of a three and D specialist than a traditional point guard.
A big summer for the Cavs
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Coming into this offseason, the big question surrounding the Cavs was how much the team’s front office would attribute their playoff failure vs the Indiana Pacers to untimely injuries, and how much would be attributed to poor roster construction.
Ultimately, it seems that the front office is comfortable running it back with the same core of players in 2025-26, and it makes sense, especially considering how wide open the Eastern Conference currently is with its various high-profile injuries.
If Mobley is indeed able to take another leap on offense as Windhorst predicted, the Cavs could once again be in for a dominant regular season in 2025-26, and hopefully, a better showing in the playoffs this time around.
