The Cleveland Cavaliers are still sifting through the rubble of their shocking five-game playoff exit to the Indiana Pacers in the second round. The Cavs dealt with plenty of injuries that set them back against Indiana, but there are still legitimate questions about whether changes are needed on the roster this offseason.
This season was supposed to mark the Cavs’ first deep postseason run since LeBron James left town in 2018, but the team was still unable to get past the second round barrier that also stopped them the previous year.
Recently, Los Angeles Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic hosted a Q & A session on YouTube, and one of the questions was a proposed trade that would send James back to the Cavs in exchange for Jarrett Allen and De’Andre Hunter.
Buha then gave his opinion on why this would be iffy from a Lakers perspective.
“I have some questions about Jarrett Allen,” said Buha. “I don’t want to overreact to the Cleveland early exit. I think there were some legitimate things with the matchup and with some of the injuries they were dealing with… I’ve soured a little bit on Jarrett Allen.”
Indeed, Allen underperformed in the Cavs’ playoff loss to the Pacers, unable to hold down the fort in the time that frontcourt partner Evan Mobley missed due to injury.
At this point, it would appear unlikely that the Cavs do something drastic this offseason and instead attribute their early playoff exit to injuries and an unfavorable matchup with the Pacers. However, there is undeniably something intriguing about the idea of James returning to the franchise he essentially built from the ground up in the 2000s and then won a championship for in 2016.
The wing position is the one area where the Cavs lack depth, and James would certainly fit that bill to a tee.
