Proposed Cavs trade with Raptors swaps Allen for Anunoby

Proposed Cavs trade with Raptors: Why Cleveland might do this deal

Center is the league’s most replaceable position. The very best centers in the league are truly dominant right now, from Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid finishing 1-2 in MVP voting to Karl-Athony Towns and Rudy Gobert making an elite impact on offense and defense, respectively. Yet behind them, the number of reasonable starters at center runs deep, much deeper even than the 30 needed to fill that position leaguewide.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have $20 million per season invested in a center, money well spent after Jarrett Allen made the All-Star team this past season. Yet they also have a rising two-way star in Evan Mobley who many believe would be best deployed at center, if not now then soon in his career. The logic is that the Cavs would be better served moving Allen and his salary slot for a high-level wing or forward; that would allow the Cavs’ roster to be better balanced and for Mobley to play his best position.

If that’s the theory of team-building you ascribe to, this deal is absolutely fair return for a player like Allen. OG Anunoby is massive for a forward, 6’7″ and a stout 232 pounds (just 11 pounds less than Allen’s listed 243), with a 7’2.5″ wingspan. He can reasonably defend many centers and easily defend any other position in the league. On offense he is a career 37.2 percent shooter from deep and averaged 17.1 points per game last season.

The Cavs would be able to start Anunoby, Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley across the front line, and mix-and-match with Dean Wade and Kevin Love to fill out the frontcourt rotation. It’s not necessarily a better lineup than the Cavs have currently, but it’s a more balanced one with more lineup versatility to match up with various opponents.