Evan Mobley agrees to five-year rookie max extension

Evan Mobley agrees to five-year rookie max extension

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley has agreed to a five-year, $224 million rookie max extension that could be worth up to $269 million, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Saturday evening.

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

Mobley’s max could receive a considerable pay raise courtesy of the Rose Rule, which will push his five-year max from 25 percent of the cap to 30 percent if he’s named to an All-NBA Team, is named Defensive Player of the Year or the MVP. It won’t kick in until the 2025-26 season, when it’s currently set to begin at $38.7 million, according to Spotrac.

The former No. 3 pick has been one of the league’s top young big men since entering the league. He averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks last season, shooting 58.0 percent from the floor and 71.9 percent from the free-throw line. He’s been a low-volume 3-point shooter over his career, though he converted on a career-best 37.3 percent of his 1.2 attempts per game in 2023-24.

Cleveland has been consistent on wanting to keep their “core four” of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Mobley and Jarrett Allen together. Garland recently expressed his disinterest with being traded; Mitchell already signed his extension and now has Cleveland’s best big. Allen, who is extension-eligible, is entering the penultimate season of a five-year, $100 million deal. Though I think they will experiment with the Mobley-Allen frontcourt for one more season due to Allen’s relationship with new head coach Jarrett Allen.

Darius Garland silences buzz surrounding desire to be traded

Those four players will account for 73.5 percent of the cap in 2024-25 and 93.1 percent the following season. That’s steep, though perhaps the quartet could justify it by being in the thick of contention alongside Boston, Philadelphia and New York for a title. I’m not sure that will be the case, but I’ve seen crazier things happen.

***

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Click here for more NBA content