Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers has become the fourth member of the 2021 NBA Draft class to receive a max extension. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that Mobley is signing for the maximum allowed of five years for $224 million. It could be worth up to $269 million if he makes an All-NBA Team in 2024-25.
Cleveland Cavaliers F/C Evan Mobley has agreed on a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie contract extension that could become worth as much as $269 million, Joe Smith and Thad Foucher of @wassbasketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/sHu5KSb8aM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 21, 2024
2021 NBA Draft Class Now Has Four Players To Receive Max Extension
Evan Mobley’s Extension Allows Cleveland Core To Stay Intact
The 23-year-old Mobley became the second key player to agree to an extension with Cleveland this offseason. Earlier this month, Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year max extension worth $150.3 million with the Cavaliers. In the 2022 offseason, Cleveland signed guard Darius Garland to a max extension that was then worth $193 million for five years.
The 6-foot-11 Mobley is three seasons deep into his NBA career. The Cavaliers selected him with the third overall pick out of USC in the 2021 NBA Draft. He would go on to start all 69 of his appearances in 2021-22. He finished as the runner-up for Rookie of the Year. Mobley took his game a step further in 2022-23 and showed his potential as one of the best defensive bigs in the game. The power forward was rewarded with an appearance on the All-Defensive First Team and a third-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year.
This past season, Mobley missed much of December and January after undergoing knee surgery. He appeared in a career-low 50 games, thus not reaching the minimum games played threshold to receive any honors. For the season, he would average 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks. He shot career-bests across the board from the field (58.0%), three-point territory (37.3%), and the foul line (71.9%).
It will be interesting to see if Mobley shoots from beyond the arc more frequently after the improved accuracy. He attempted just 1.2 per game last season and just 1.3 over his first two. The difference is he combined to make just 23.3% of his three-point tries over his first two years in the league.
In 198 career outings (all starts), Mobley has averages of 15.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks.
Joins Three Others From 2021 Draft Class To Receive Max Extensions
It has been a busy offseason for players selected in the 2021 NBA Draft. Mobley joins three others in signing the five-year max extension that can rise in value with an All-NBA appearance in 2024-25.
The first to receive the extension was Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors. Taken with the fourth overall pick in 2021, Barnes was named the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year. Last season in 60 outings, the 22-year-old (turns 23 on August 1) averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks.
Next up was Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. The first overall pick in 2021, Cunningham will turn 23 years old on September 25, Last season, the guard averaged 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 0.9 steals (albeit on a 14-68 Pistons team). The third to agree to terms on a max extension was Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner. Turning 23 on August 27, Wagner was taken eighth overall by Orlando in 2021. Last season, he posted averages of 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals.
