As we all saw on Wednesday, Jarrett Allen was a part of the blockbuster trade which sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. I went into detail before how I feel about James Harden, the Nets, and the issues I believe the team is going to have with the likes of Kyrie Irving and James Harden on the same team, but there are many more pieces of this puzzle. How are the Rockets going to fair now? Will Indiana be able to continue their hot streak? Today I want to tackle what may be the biggest question mark in this entire trade: Jarrett Allen.
As stated before in the tweet linked above, Allen was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Taurean Prince. First and foremost, we should all give a round of applause for the Cavs, who are notoriously bad at trading and being a franchise in general, for not getting swindled in this trade. For the price of only Dante Exum, who was on an expiring deal, the Cavs were able to get back Prince, who is a good wing role player, shooting 35% from deep this season, and their Center of the Future in Allen.
I kind of knew that Jarrett Allen’s future in Brooklyn was going to be bleak, due to the fact that when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant came to the Nets, they brought their friend Deandre Jordan. I like Jordan as a player: good rim runner, good rebounder, you don’t ever have to run plays for him, it was a good signing on paper. However, when you sign a player who plays the same position as one of your young studs, someone is going to have to take a backseat. With the nature of the KD and Kyrie signings, the Nets were clearly trying to do whatever it took to get them both in a Nets uniform, which means they’re catering to their wishes.
I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be a slight against Allen, who for his whole career has proven to be a solid player in less than 30 minutes a game with 10 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game for his career. Let’s not forget that Allen hasn’t played on world beater teams before this season. Arguably, the best season the Nets have had prior to this season, was when D’Angelo Russell was running point, which seems like forever ago now. Allen has proved to be able to play with whoever is on the floor, which I can only imagine is a positive for this Cleveland Cavs squad now.
The rest of the roster is intact. Are they great? No. They aren’t even really good. I do like the foundation they have now, though. The only variable right now is the Andre Drummond expiring contract, which I think the Cavs will look to trade, if not right now, at the latest by the trade deadline. Outside of that, their starting five, when healthy, could be the “SexLand” back-court of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro and Kevin Love at the forward spots, and Allen at the five. This isn’t going to go to the Finals this year, or maybe even the next three, but I do like this young core. Sexton and Garland have had their special moments this season, Okoro is a rookie, but has been a decent contributor, and Allen has the potential to be a very good young center for years to come. With the veteran presence of Kevin Love, not to mention his championship pedigree, it is possible that he can help mold all of these young guys before his playing days are over.
I think that the Cavs, all things considered, came out pretty good in this trade. They were able to get a starting caliber center, and a role player, for an expiring contract. This is a low risk, high reward deal that the Cavs front office should be applauded for. I think that Allen has all the ability to become a 20/10 guy with 1.5 blocks per game. Maybe this new scenery is going to show what Allen can really do. I sure hope so.
Round The Game 
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