Last summer the Cleveland Cavaliers looked poised to transition their rebuild, to go from asset accumulation to an attempt to win basketball games. The Cavs drafted a top-3 prospect in Evan Mobley, retained Jarrett Allen, Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens, and added Ricky Rubio and Lauri Markkanen.
That transition went better than anyone expected, and the Cavs finished above .500 with a 44-38 record and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. While injuries spurred them to a late-season falter and a loss in the Play-In Tournament, this season was an absolute success.
After a whole season is in the rearview camera, how did the Cavs do in re-signing Jarrett Allen last summer to a $100 million contract?
Now that it is over, we can go back and evaluate the steps taken to put this season together. One of the most important goes back to last summer. Jarrett Allen, acquired midseason as part of the James Harden trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets, was a restricted free agent. The Cavs wasted no time in signing Allen to a five-year, $100 million contract to keep him in Cleveland for a long time.
How does that signing look after a season has past? Does it look like a millstone around the front office’s neck, or an affirmation of their roster successes? Let’s see what we thought then, how the season went and how we would land now with an all-new grade for the deal.