Cavs: Where does Jarrett Allen rank among the league’s centers?
Where does Jarrett Allen rank among the league’s centers? Tier 4 – Solid Starters
Christian Wood, Jonas Valanciunas, Richaun Holmes, Al Horford, Jakob Poetl, Ivica Zubac, Steven Adams, Jarrett Allen
Finally we arrive in the fourth tier, labeled “solid starters” for players who can start on a good team, but aren’t so good they could be “the guy” or even “the guy’s guy.” These are fourth and fifth starters, players who fill an important role.
Players like Christian Wood and Jonas Valanciunas provide offensive verve while not completely opting out defensively. Ivica Zubac and Jakob Poetl are young centers in the mold of Allen, filling their role and playing hard when they do see the court.
Al Horford and Steven Adams are something of the old guard, players still with plenty left in the tank but who have clearly lost a step. Finally Richaun Holmes was the second-best center on the free agent market, and his leverage brought back the most he could make in Sacramento using his Early Bird Rights.
Jarrett Allen falls somewhere in this group, probably towards the top of it. He is much younger and likely to trend up, not down like Horford and Adams, although Horford’s outside shooting should help solve some problems. He is also less proven and completely dependent on his team’s guards to create shots.
That means the Cavs are paying Jarrett Allen $20 million a year, the seventh-most in the league at the position. Yet he probably slots more in the 12-15 range than in the top 10. His archetype – rim-running center, rim-defending too, is valuable on an NBA court but also replaceable to a certain extent. Holmes, although older, is a better center than Allen right now based on nearly every number, which backs up the eye test.
Next. Grading the Jarrett Allen signing on three levels. dark
In the end, the Cavaliers won’t fold as a franchise and move to Virginia Beach or Las Vegas if they overpay a restricted free agent. Allen’s contract is likely an overpay, but it’s also a bet on a young player who fits their core and scheme. Whether Allen can grow as a player and sneak into the Top 10? That’s highly unlikely, and not happening anytime soon, as it’s the faint hope of a whisper. For now he can play great defense and protect the rim and grow alongside the rest of the core players.