Glenn Kaplan
Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been with the franchise since being acquired in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-2021 NBA season. He is still only 28 years old and has been up-and-down during his NBA career. During the 2025-2026 NBA postseason, Allen was impressive in Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors. Cleveland lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Some fans think that this team needs a tweak or two to be a serious contender.
Allen has been rumored to be traded for quite some time. There have been questions about whether or not Allen and Evan Mobley can co-exist together on the floor at the same times. For various moments in the postseason, they both showed that they can. The question is, can the Cavaliers win an NBA title with this roster as currently constructed? If not, Allen or someone else might have to be moved in order to make the team better.
CBS Sports Sam Quinn thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers could trade Jarrett Allen to shake up the roster
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports thinks that three different Cavaliers players could be traded: Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Allen. The fact is that Cleveland will not trade all three of them this offseason. If one of those players were to be traded, it would be either Allen for some wings or Mobley for Giannis Antetokounmpo. One player that the Cavaliers could be interested in trading for this offseason is Trey Murphy from the New Orleans Pelicans. Quinn said, “He’s coming off his best playoff run.
Does Cleveland want to keep its two big men together next season? The Cavaliers haven’t derived the rebounding benefits of playing two bigs that most teams hope for, and their defense slipped this season. Allen-for-a-wing trades have been rumored for years, so if Cleveland thinks Mobley is ready to be a full-time center and wants to prioritize shooting and perimeter defense, exploring such moves now makes sense.”
If they were to trade Allen, Mobley would then move to the five. In 56 games last season, Allen averaged 15.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 BPG, and 1.0 SPG. He would be a nice addition to another team if the Cavaliers were to move on from him. The New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers are two of the teams this offseason that could make a push for Allen. The only thing is, the Lakers may not have anyone on the roster to give Cleveland.
Potential Allen Trade
A one-for-one swap that includes Allen for Murphy on New Orleans would work on the NBA trade machine on espn.com. With that being said, would the Pelicans want more players in return and would the Cavaliers want more players in return. Adding a wing would no doubt help the Cavaliers. If they were to trade Allen, Cleveland would need to find another center in either a trade or in free agency.
There are many questions that Koby Altman needs to answer with this roster in the offseason. If he decides to run it back with everyone, it would be understandable. If he were to trade Allen or other pieces on the roster, it would also be understandable. This is a big offseason for this franchise.
