Cavs: Jarrett Allen should mesh with other players right away

It shouldn’t take Jarrett Allen long to fit in with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Recent Cleveland Cavaliers trade acquisition Jarrett Allen, who is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason, would appear to be a core piece for the squad for years to come.

For a side note involving the trade, it was recently reported that an MRI revealed a small mass on Caris LeVert’s left kidney, because of which he’ll be out indefinitely, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Given the issue revealed involving the former Brooklyn Net, and now-Indiana Pacer, the 2024 Cavs second-round pick (of which will be the lesser of theirs and the Utah Jazz’s) will be sent to Indiana, not the Nets, as was previously set to be the case, per Charania. And the Nets sent $2.6 million to the Pacers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski; most importantly, let’s hope LeVert recovers fully in time.

Anyhow, now, regarding the Cavs/Allen, I don’t want to discount what Andre Drummond has done so far this season for Cleveland, especially when factoring in how the Cavaliers have had a litony of injuries.

Drummond is fresh off having the Cavs’ first 30-point, 20-rebound game since Carlos Boozer in 2004, per Cavs Notes, too, in a W over the New York Knicks on Friday. Drummond had three assists, two steals and two blocks as well.

On the season, Drummond has had 19.3 points, a league-leading 15.8 rebounds, as has been customary in recent seasons, 2.9 assists (albeit 3.8 turnovers), 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Now, injuries to players such as Kevin Love (right calf strain/reaggravation), who has only appeared in one outing, have played some into it. Darius Garland (right shoulder sprain), who has missed the past seven, and Collin Sexton (left ankle sprain), who has missed the past five, are in that realm, too.

Nonetheless, Drummond deserves his credit. That said, Allen looks to be Cleveland’s long-term future at the starting 5 spot, as he’s only 22 years old, has great finishing abilities, will have gravity as a roller over-the-top, and is one of the game’s best young rim protectors.

And naturally, with Drummond on an expiring deal, given recent reports/rumors, it seems very likely that he’ll eventually be traded by the Cavaliers by the March 25 deadline. Per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, the Cavs have reportedly received calls about Drummond, along with JaVale McGee, who is set to make $4.2 million this season.

Moving Dre, though, won’t be the simplest task with him set to be on the books for $28.8 million this campaign, so he could maybe stick through the deadline/sign elsewhere this offseason. McGee I’d imagine could very well be moved.

Anyway, looking back at Allen, though, he looks to be a piece that should fit in from the jump really well.

Allen should fit in with other Cavs players right away.

Allen, who has averaged 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 26.7 minutes per game with Brooklyn thus far this season, should be a seamless fit alongside other Cavaliers players from the jump, I believe.

We won’t see Allen and fellow Cavs trade acquisition Taurean Prince in action in what was supposed to be two back-to-back matchups at the Washington Wizards due to COVID-19-induced postponements, but overall, I’d expect Allen to fit in particularly well.

Allen is such an impactful lob threat/roll man, and he and Darius Garland will get their share of connections over-the-top in settled offense I would imagine for years to come in that realm.

Allen’s timing in that dunker role, to go with his hops/catch radius make him one of the most efficient rollers in the NBA, and not to knock Drummond as a roller per se, but Allen frankly has far better touch.

Allen, who has placed in the 86th percentile so far in roll man scoring situations, per Synergy Sports, placed in the 89th percentile last season in that metric.

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And conversely, with his rolling presence near the basket/gravity involved, he should seemingly help out Cavs shooters, such as feasibly Kevin Love, Darius Garland/Collin Sexton to an extent, Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler. This is when Cleveland’s healthier, clearly.

The 6-foot-11, 243-pound Allen, who moves really well for a 5, is also a very good screener both on and off the ball, and to this point is third in the NBA in screen assists per game, per NBA.com’s player hustle data.

He was, among players that would qualify, tied for ninth in that metric last season, and fifth the year prior, too. And type of thing should consistently pay dividends for guys such as Sexton, Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. (when he’s back in the fold), Osman, Damyean Dotson and/or others.

Defensively, Allen’s rim protection abilities (a lifetime block rate of 4.4 percent) should help out big-time in the paint, too, and I’d imagine that being around Drummond, at least a bit, should aid Allen in that regard.

Allen’s capabilties/timing when it comes to blocking shots should aid Cleveland in relation to perhaps getting live-ball turnovers, also, and Allen is a solid rebounder at both ends, which will evidently lead to other opportunities, well offensively.

In a general sense, though, I’d think that, with him not needing to be a player that the Cavs will need to get a ton of looks for, Allen should mesh with other Cavs players right away.

Hopefully we’ll see that play out on Wednesday, versus his former club in the Nets, actually.