Report: Cavs’ next goal is to give Evan Mobley Scottie Barnes-esque contract and make him ‘franchise pillar’

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers are days removed from inking star guard Donovan Mitchell to a three-year contract extension worth just over $150 million, the team is reportedly focused on extending big man Evan Mobley and rewarding him with a contract similar to the one Scottie Barnes recently signed with the Toronto Raptors.

“The next thing on the to-do list is not trade Darius Garland or trade Jarrett Allen,” Chris Fedor said in light of the Cavaliers’ decision to extend Mitchell. “It’s get Evan Mobley locked up with the same kind of extension — similar to the one that Scottie Barnes got. Make him a franchise pillar.”

Barnes’ new deal will pay him up to $270 million over five years. The 22-year-old averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 60 games with the Raptors during the 2023-24 regular season and earned the first All-Star nod of his pro career.

He averaged the third-most points and second-most steals of any player on the Raptors and also finished second on the team in rebounds per contest.

It’s arguable as to whether Mobley produced at the level Barnes did during the 2023-24 regular season. Mobley’s numbers might not jump off the page like Barnes’ do, as the former averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest in his third season in the NBA.

But unlike Barnes, Mobley had an opportunity to participate in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and he played at a high level on both ends of the floor in Cleveland’s run which ended in the second round.

Across 12 playoff games with the Cavaliers, Mobley averaged 16.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.2 blocks per contest.

But the big man was particularly effective in Cleveland’s second-round series against the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers lost the best-of-seven series in five games, but Mobley suited up in every one of those contests and averaged 21.4 points on 62.7 percent shooting from the floor along with 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 block per game.

Mobley also ended his stint in the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a bang, as he totaled 33 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal in the Cavaliers’ Game 5 loss to the Celtics.

The 23-year-old’s level of play against a Celtics team that went on to win the championship suggests that he is arguably worthy of a contract similar to the one the Raptors gave Barnes.