Should Cleveland Keep Their Core Four?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the more interesting NBA teams this off-season. Not for the moves they’ve made, but rather the moves they haven’t. 

There’s been a lot of chatter in the media about Cleveland wanting to move on from their ‘core four’ group of players. These being Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. 

But would this be a good idea? Should Cleveland keep their core four? Here’s a case both for and against the team moving on from their current foundation. 

Case for 

The case for keeping together the core four is rather straightforward. This is a group of talented young players who will only continue to develop over time and become better players. Both individually, and as a unit. 

Koby Altman referenced the current Denver Nuggets team as an example of this model. Despite years of not quite being good enough, they trusted their process and now have hardware to show for it. Mitchell, at 27 is the oldest of the group while Mobley (23) is the youngest. This means that the best player of the four is only just entering their prime. 

And, as recent seasons have shown, the path to a championship is paved with well-structured teams, not coalitions of all-stars. Although the Cavs haven’t made any moves this off-season, they had one of the more well-balanced teams of last season, despite the injury-ridden campaign. 

Three of the four players have favorable win-loss records with the team, too. Allen is 139-113 as a Cavalier, Mobley is 117-81, Mitchell is 80-43 and Garland is 143-164. Sure, Garland doesn’t have a positive record, but he also was drafted almost immediately after LeBron James left Cleveland.

Last season, Garland averaged 18 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. Mobley averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while Allen averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. 

Case against 

Unfortunately, as good as they are, the numbers indicate these players might not be the best together. When looking at the front and backcourt duos, they play better without each other. 

Both Mobley and Allen average more points, rebounds and assists when playing without the other. Sure this could be them making up for the others absence, but it also suggests that Mobley isn’t fully utilized at power forward. 

Garland and Mitchell, too, play better without the other. They each average more points, assists and rebounds when playing without the other. Both of these guys are phenomenal basketball players, but also both primary ball-handlers. This works when staggering or dealing with injury, but clearly not as well when all playing together. 

Rather than milling over the move of a single player, Cleveland is having to look at their entire core this offseason. Whether they decide to switch it up or keep their core four, next season should be an optimistic one for the Cavaliers. 

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Featured photo courtesy of NBA.com

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