Donovan Mitchell Wants Evan Mobley To Demand The Ball More Next Season For Cavaliers

During an interview with Taylor Rooks, Donovan Mitchell said he wants Evan Mobley to demand the ball more next season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Mobley won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and made his first All-Star team last season. He averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Cavaliers during the regular season. 

“Evan doesn’t even know what he is yet,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen it in flashes. The Boston series, when I was out, he was him. Defensive Player of the Year at 23. First-Team All-Defense. But offensively? He’s just scratching the surface. He has it.

“Now it’s about aggression, consistency, demanding the ball. That’s what I keep telling him. No, we need more. Demand it. If I don’t pass you the ball, get on my ass. If DG (Darius Garland) don’t give you the ball, get on his ass.”

By winning Defensive Player of the Year last season, Mobley triggered a clause in his contract that calls for him to increase the first-year salary of his rookie-scale extension from 25% to 30% of the salary cap.

The Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the East this year. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round in five games. 

Mobley put up 17.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in the 2025 playoffs. He missed Game 2 of the Pacers series with an ankle injury. 

“We’re going to go as a franchise as Evan is going to go,” Cavs GM Koby Altman said during his end-of-the-season press conference. “And we’ve had that conversation with Evan. In the playoffs, we need more. We need more than 13 field goal attempts per game — that’s new for Evan. There’s another jump. 

“And so to that point, Kenny’s going to be able to implement his offseason program, which we’re very excited about. And we’re going to see some internal growth there, and we think we have one of the best big men in the game in Evan Mobley.”