It’s a good problem to have two emerging players who are great at playing roles. Unfortunately, it becomes a headache for franchises that have the same caliber of stars but play very similar roles. Mike Gansey has a dilemma and it’s no longer just involving who gets to coach this squad. Instead, the Cleveland Cavaliers are likely faced with the tough call of having to choose between Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. But, this Cavs front office is very reluctant to deal with one of them due to Donovan Mitchell.
Mike Gansey is hesitant to trade Jarrett Allen, per Marc Stein. The Cavs front office outlined that they understand that there will be fit and rotational issues with him and Evan Mobley. But, they are not going to risk trading the one-time All-Star because Donovan Mitchell is reportedly such a big fan of him.
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
Some reports have been going around about the New Orleans Pelicans’ interest in trading for Jarrett Allen. However, the Cavs’ big man plays an essential role in keeping their core intact. Donovan Mitchell is about to sign an extension worth $208.5 million and it spans for the next four years. Allen is the staple that Mike Gansey’s front office has such that the guard would want to re-sign with them.
An insane Cavs one-two punch
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These two are a dynamic duo on offense. Whenever Mitchell needs to be bailed out, he can always rely on lobbing the ball up to the sky while a cutting Allen reaches for it mid-flight for a dunk. Allen has gotten better at playing drop coverage as well which makes it convenient for when Mitchell gets blown by.
Being a fan of each others’ game thus makes it very unlikely that these two get separated. But, it is also this continued improvement that might be a double-edged sword. Obviously, Allen is going to demand more money from the Cavs front office due to his constant rise as a top vertical threat in the NBA. This makes their financial situation much harder to deal with in the long run. Effectively, this makes their championship window shorter in length. Another problem they could also deal with is having to sign effective players but on minimum deals. This harms their continuity.
Allen just finished the season with a career-high 16.5 points per game average. He also did with an effective 63.4% field goal percentage. It was also the second-highest rebounding season of his career. The Cavs center notched 10.5 rebounds on a nightly basis which only trailed his lone All-Star season when he got 10.8 boards.
This skyrocket in production is insane for the Cavs center despite having to share minutes, touches, and coverages with Evan Mobley. So, the choice to keep him might just be a no-brainer.