Attention will be squarely focused on the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer after a major collapse in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the door potentially swinging open for the Golden State Warriors to target a player like Evan Mobley.
The Cavaliers fell to a series sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks on Monday, and the way they simply gave up on their home floor in a 130-93 Game 4 defeat could reverberate into their decision-making during the offseason.
Cavs collapse could give Warriors an opportunity at Evan Mobley
It's a little strange that a team that just made the conference finals could be on the precipice of blowing it up, but that's just what Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports has suggested in the wake of Monday's loss.
Donovan Mitchell will have a major say on which direction the Cavaliers are headed, with the star guard holding just one year left on his contract and already appearing like a trade candidate if he doesn't sign an extension this summer.
Trading Mitchell could signal a blow-it-up scenario. While Mobley is still young enough to be at the head of a rebuild, Cleveland might be open to tearing it down further if a team like the Warriors came calling with a host of future picks.
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— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) May 26, 2026
Mobley was hardly Cleveland's worst player against the Knicks, averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 blocks on 49.1% shooting from the floor during the series. The issue is he just hasn't taken the leap into becoming a truly dominant offensive player, leaving the former third overall pick as just a 1x All-Star through his first five seasons.
Evan Mobley would be dream Warriors big man
While Mobley hasn't taken the offensive strides many had hoped, make no mistake that he'd still be a dream big man for the Warriors to place next to Stephen Curry for the remaining years of the 2x MVP's career.
Mobley's two-way ability would be huge for a Golden State team who've failed to land a young, long-term starting center for years. The 24-year-old's passing ability could be even more utilized in Steve Kerr's system, and he'd likely to get more opportunity to finally take that offensive leap than he currently gets playing alongside Mitchell and James Harden (previously Darius Garland) in Cleveland.
As for a trade, the Warriors would assuredly need to give up Jimmy Butler (for salary-matching reasons) and a host of future picks, but it would be worth a conversation if there's even an inkling that Mobley could become available.
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