NBA Insider Reports Evan Mobley Wanted to Land With OKC Thunder, Team Attempted a Trade

The Oklahoma City Thunder Attempted to Trade for Evan Mobley at the 2021 NBA Draft, with the big man wanting to land in Bricktown.

Oct 27, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) is fouled by / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to stave off elimination against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 on Saturday, but the offseason rumor mill is already spinning. After the Cleveland Cavilers were ousted from the NBA Playoffs earlier this week, the Athletic dropped an article littered with news and tidbits surrounding the organization.

In this piece picking apart the Cavs' future, the Thunder were caught in the crossfire as NBA insider Shams Charania revealed Oklahoma City tried multiple times to acquire USC standout Evan Mobley in the 2021 NBA Draft.

“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," Charania reported in an Athletic story following the Cavs being bounced from the NBA Playoffs.

While it has been widely known that Sam Presti and company liked Mobley - and even tried to trade for him - the Athletic went as far as to report that the youngster's representation pleaded with Cleveland not to draft him to give them a better shot to fall to the Bricktown boys.

However, Charania is sure to clarify that the Cavs and Mobley remain in a healthy and positive partnership which should eliminate any offseason trade speculation for the talented young big man.

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