The Cleveland Cavaliers could be one of the more fascinating teams in the NBA this summer. They are one of a few teams still without a head coach for next year, and their core group could be very much in flux after a second round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
Donovan Mitchell is eligible for a 4-year extension worth more than $200 million, which the Cavs will assuredly offer him, and his decision will have a ripple effect. If he declines to sign, the Cavs will have to explore trade options so they don’t lose him next summer for nothing. If he stays, Darius Garland’s representatives are expected to ask the Cavaliers to find him a new home via trade — although the Cavs don’t seem too in a rush to trade the former All-Star guard. Their star backcourt isn’t the only pairing that could get broken up, as there are real questions about how Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley fit together.
Allen would be a highly sought after big man on the trade market if he became available, particularly at $20 million per year for two more years. However, despite most believing Mobley’s long-term future is at center, the Cavs apparently have to consider locker room politics when it comes to how they maneuver this summer. Per Marc Stein, Mitchell is a big fan of Allen’s and would like him to remain in Cleveland.
One reason I’ve heard for the Cavaliers’ reported reluctance to trade Jarrett Allen despite ongoing questions about Allen’s fit in the same frontcourt alongside the emerging Evan Mobley: Donovan Mitchell is often described as an Allen fan who doesn’t want to lose him as a teammate.
It’s not a surprise Allen would be a favorite of Mitchell’s. He’s very helpful cleaning up mistakes on defense at the rim and is the Cavs best screener, helping free up some space for Mitchell. However, Mobley started to show strides in the playoffs when he wasn’t playing next to Allen, and the spacing crunch of having two non-shooting bigs is just really hard to make work.
That creates a bit of a conundrum in Cleveland. Trading Allen paves the way for Mobley to be the center of the present and future, while also probably giving them a good chance of creating better floor balance and spacing, even at the cost of his rim protection, screening, and finishing. If they don’t move him, their options for upgrades on the roster would require them to move one of Garland and/or Mobley, and the Cavs haven’t seemed too keen to really explore those avenues just yet.
They certainly could choose hold onto Allen until Mitchell has signed and then explore their options for a trade, but we have enough recent examples of guys requesting trades after signing an extension to know that getting pen to paper is only the beginning of keeping a star in town long-term. We’ll start finding out how the Cavs plan to proceed in the coming weeks, and Mitchell’s extension will be the first domino to fall. If he signs, Allen might get taken off the table (or at least, cost a lot to pry out of Cleveland), and the Cavs will have to decide whether they’re just going to run it back one more year or trade one of their young stars.