A large chunk of Cleveland Cavaliers fans have begged to see the franchise break up the core four. That desperate cry always came with a follow-up idea of either trading Jarrett Allen or Darius Garland. It sure looks like those Cavs fans might just get their wish here.
On Monday night, there were rumors flooding about Garland potentially being involved in a swap featuring James Harden coming to Cleveland. Not even a full 24 hours since, Sam Amick is hinting the Cavaliers could also be ready to part ways with Allen too.
Amick wrote, "Their second-apron status has been well chronicled, but league sources say they’ve explored ways of trading the contract of big man Jarrett Allen ($90.7 million combined in the next three seasons) as a way of unlocking much bigger possibilities."
Brian Windhorst indicated on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective that Cleveland was ready to move on from the formula they have desperately hung onto for years. This would be a great time to plug a reference about the Drew McIntyre meme of praying for something and it happening. The question now becomes, which domino drops first?
Jarrett Allen could finally meet a predictable end in Cleveland
The timing of this could genuinely not be funnier for Allen. The Cavaliers center has been criticized a ton for underperforming this season, being soft, or otherwise. Those were just some of the critiques that had fans fed up amid being ready to move on.
Allen now finds himself in the rumor mill after his best game of the year. The former All-Star posted 40 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals in the Cavaliers' most recent 130-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Cavs big man was the first player in NBA history with 40-15-5 in under 30 minutes of action. Quite frankly, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to nitpicking stats with this performance that would frame it as historic.
It's not like one dominant game was going to suddenly change the Cavaliers' minds, if they were already made up about trading Allen. However, the comedic value in having a well-respected insider like Amick deliver these rumors just days after the Portland game is phenomenal.
The most interesting part of the latest intel here could easily be the last part. What are the 'much bigger possibilities' that Cleveland is hoping to unlock by moving Allen?
Could Cavaliers fans dreaming of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade actually have ground to stand on? Or is this overanalyzing some choice words?
Those hoping to see the Cavaliers' win-now window explode are going to hope it is the former. Cleveland's potential involvement in the trade deadline has suddenly skyrocketed over just a few days.