Cavaliers, Evan Mobley agree to 5-year, $224 million max rookie extension: Source
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Evan Mobley have agreed on a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie contract extension that could be worth up to $269 million, a league source confirmed Saturday.
ESPN first reported the news.
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Mobley is the second key player Cleveland locked up with a maximum extension this month after agreeing to a three-year, $150.3 million max contract with five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell on July 2.
Mobley, a 23-year-old power forward, averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 50 regular-season games last season. In 12 postseason contests during the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Mobley led all players in blocks and contested shots by a wide margin last postseason. With him as an anchor, the Cavs have ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating each of his three years in the league.
He made the All-Defensive First Team in 2023 and All-Rookie First Team in 2022 after the Cavaliers selected him at No. 3 in the 2021 NBA Draft.
He is the fourth member of the 2021 draft class to receive a max extension, joining Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner.
Cleveland went 48-34 last season, losing in five games to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, under J.B. Bickerstaff.
Bickerstaff was fired after the season and replaced in June by former Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson in the head-coaching role.
The Cavs have been preparing to give Mobley a max extension for at least two years.
He joins Mitchell and Darius Garland as players on max contracts in Cleveland, giving the organization control over all three franchise pillars through at least the 2026-27 season.
Mobley has been a defensive force since entering the league, finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023. He has underwhelmed offensively, averaging 15.6 points through his first three seasons while his 3-point shot has been slow to develop.
The Cavs believe Atkinson can get more out of Mobley on the offensive end while maintaining his standing as a premier big defensively. The Cavs also control Jarrett Allen for two more years, meaning it’s on Atkinson to figure out how to play Allen with Mobley after the two struggled to stay on the floor for extended minutes together last season.
