Evan Mobley agrees to five-year extension with Cavs

The Cavaliers might be quiet on the free-agent front this summer but late Saturday night they signed their second core piece to a contract extension. Forward/center Evan Mobley agreed to a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie contract extension that could eventually be worth as much as $269 million, ESPN reported. The two sides had been working on the deal for weeks. Cleveland signed five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell to a three-year, $150 extension on July 7. Mobley, 23, was slowed by knee surgery last season, yet still averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game in 50 games. The 7-foot, 215-pound Mobley moved to center in the Boston playoff series and thrived, especially in the Game 5 loss with 33 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The Cavs intend to keep Mobley and 6-11 Jarrett Allen together as part of their "core four" under new coach Kenny Atkinson. Mobley showed how good he could be on the defensive end during the 2022-23 season when he was a first-team All-Defense pick and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He is still developing as an offensive player, yet shot .626 from the field last season. Mobley's 3-point shot is still a work in progress, as he shot .373 from long distance in 2023-24. If the Cavs are going to continue to play the two big men at the same time, Mobley will need to stretch his game out to the 3-point line to space the floor for attacking guards Mitchell and Darius Garland. A main emphasis to Atkinson's hiring was to develop Mobley's game from a very good player to a dominant one. "That was a big part of our discussion and during the process, how to get him to the next level," Atkinson said. "He's (23) years old, so he's just naturally going to grow. We can schematically get the ball in his hands more. I think when you have a guy that versatile, it could be him in transition bringing the ball up. "His usage can go up and we have to figure out the best positions to put him in. But it's like I can't wait to get on that task. I know that's a big, big part of us taking that next step." Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.