The offseason has been plagued with rumors about Jarrett Allen possibly moving away from the Cleveland Cavaliers system, With Kenny Atkinson taking over, it looks like there will be better schemes to integrate him and Evan Mobley properly side-by-side in the rotation. While a lot of Cavs fans still think that a departure should be imminent, a known insider posits that no moves around the big man would occur.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com noted that Jarrett Allen is the most indispensable player in the Cavs rotation. Despite the changes from JB Bickerstaff to Kenny Atkinson, the big man will still be a staple in their squad alongside Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland. All of it is for good reason. The Cavs insider explained why in his latest appearance on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast.
“What people tend to say in this organization is that Jarrett’s the most indispensable player that they have. They just cannot function at the same high level offensively and defensively without Jarrett and the numbers bear that out. They are a different team at both ends of the floor when he is not healthy. Especially when he’s in foul trouble and when he’s off the court,” the Cavs reporter declared.
Cavs front office’s desire to keep Jarrett Allen
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All signs do point to this reality in the Cavs front office. There were many offers from squads that wanted Allen this offseason. However, they chose to stick with him and got him to ink a three-year deal worth $91 million. This is largely because, despite some schematic limitations with him and Mobley, he still produces at a high level. He averages 16.5 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest.
“People inside this organization feel like the rebuild finally changed the minute that they traded for Jarrett. They felt like that gave them an identity. That gave them a centerpiece and gave them another building block. That gave them a defensive presence. It gave them the right piece to put around Darius Garland,” he added.
The Cavs have now found a squad that can contend for postseason success post-LeBron James. With Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Allen, they have a huge window to win an NBA Championship. When one adds in Kenny Atkinson’s good mastery of defensive schemes and proper rotations, they could very well be title contenders within the next half-decade. A lot of it will hinge on their chemistry but it looks like that won’t be a problem given how they performed in the past season.