After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, The Athletic’s Shams Charania revealed an interesting detail about Evan Mobley related to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder had the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. This came after having some tough lottery luck and falling to the sixth slot despite entering with the fourth-best lottery odds.
The Thunder stood pat and selected Josh Giddey with the No. 6 pick, but that didn’t happen without OKC attempting to move up, according to The Athletic.
The Thunder made multiple offers to the Cavaliers for the No. 3 spot. Cleveland refused to move and instead selected Mobley with the third pick.
“Interestingly, Mobley’s representation, Wasserman, cautioned the Cavs prior to the 2021 draft not to select Mobley, league sources said. It is a common draft strategy among agents in an effort to get players to certain teams — in this instance, Oklahoma City. The Thunder made multiple offers for the Cavs’ No. 3 pick in the draft that year, league sources said. But the Cavs selected Mobley anyway, and the relationship has remained healthy and positive.”
Cade Cunningham went to the Detroit Pistons with the No. 1 pick and Jalen Green went to the Houston Rockets with the No. 2 pick.
This shouldn’t be a shocker though. Heading into the 2021 NBA draft, the Thunder were rumored to be infatuated with Mobley, who admitted in the pre-draft process his favorite team was OKC.
The attempts failed as the Thunder selected Giddey. It all worked out for OKC though, as it drafted Chet Holmgren — someone with a similar profile but boosted — with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft,
Even though the Thunder have Holmgren, a frontcourt pairing with Mobley would give them arguably the best defensive duo in the league. It’s an intriguing idea, but the Cavaliers continue to be fans of the 22-year-old.
