The Cleveland Cavaliers are contemplating big changes this summer on the trade market. Could they use the Los Angeles Lakers' desperation to pull off a blockbuster trade, sending All-Star center Jarrett Allen to California in exchange for Austin Reaves?
The Cavaliers have some significant questions to ask this offseason -- questions they have surely been asking themselves in the weeks since the Indiana Pacers eliminated them from the postseason. They have an extremely talented team that is capable of achieving great things; this roster proved that last season.
Are they good enough to win it all? Do they have what it takes to play an NBA Finals such as the one going on this year between the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, with elite levels of energy, mental toughness and athleticism? Does their talent fit together well enough for head coach Kenny Atkinson to lead them to a championship?
If the answer is no, and it might well be, the Cavaliers have to pursue a change, no matter the fact that were Darius Garland healthy they might be playing in the NBA Finals right now. The excuses for this year don't necessitate perfection next season; Koby Altman and the front office need to decide what makes them best for next year and execute that vision.
One obvious move to pursue would be to trade Jarrett Allen. The onetime All-Star center is an extremely talented two-way player and is a key part of their team culture. At the same time, rising superstar Evan Mobley is probably best deployed at center, and so paying two centers prime dollar and shoehorning them into lineups may not be best optimizing their resources.
The difficulty is that not many teams need a starting center and would be willing to give up significant assets for him, even as talented as Allen is. He is somewhere in the 8-15 range among centers in the league; that type of player should return strong value, but only if Cleveland can find the right trade partner.
Cavaliers could trade Jarrett Allen to the Lakers
Enter the Los Angeles Lakers. They are going to aggressively search for a center on the trade market this summer who can run to the rim with Luka Doncic on offense and protect the back line on defense. That sounds like Allen to a 'T' with his strong screens, vertical gravity, excellent hands and versatile defense.
Most of the discussion around the Lakers as a trade partner has assumed that Rui Hachimura would be the matching salary coming back to the Cavaliers. The problem with that approach is that the Lakers need Hachimura; where they have redundancy is with on-ball shot creation.
That is the genesis of a bolder trade offer proposed by Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports and his producer on the "Kevin O'Connor Show" podcast: Jarrett Allen to the Lakers for Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht.
The Lakers get a top-tier center under contract for a number of years, and they avoid needing to pay Reaves next season when he can opt out of his bargain contract. The Cavaliers, by contrast, don't necessarily need Reaves either, but he can replace Ty Jerome this season and be a trade piece who is much more valuable than Hachimura and his shaky shooting would be.
It also opens the door for the Cavaliers to make a second move and trade Darius Garland, with Reaves an exceptional replacement either starting in the backcourt next to Donovan Mitchell or coming off the bench as a super-sub Sixth Man.
Cleveland's options to trade Jarrett Allen for strong value are limited, so if this trade is on the table from the Lakers they should strongly consider it. It could be the precursor to a team makeover that allows Mobley, Mitchell and company to truly chase their dreams of an NBA Championship.