The core four may be at the heart of what makes the Cleveland Cavaliers contenders for the 2025-26 NBA season, but that does not mean they will get the spotlight in each and every crucial moment. Jarrett Allen should be at the epicenter of those tough judgment calls.
Danny Cunningham of Locked on Cavs encouraged people to reconsider whether the team even had a core four. For the Cavaliers reporter, it was a big three of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.
Cunningham's position on Allen was to view him as more of a 'high-end role player.' That stance invited the conversation of what that truly means for how the Cavaliers would function in 2025-26. This much was clear to the show's host.
"You have to be comfortable not closing games Jarrett Allen at center," Cunningham stated. "He can't necessarily be somebody that ... [is] treated the way a typical All-Star would be treated in terms of those closing minutes."
Cavaliers can’t afford to ignore toughest adjustment with their center
Cunningham added that Allen should still remain a starter. However, the deeper the Cavaliers get into Mobley's career, the more Cleveland sees their rising star play center. The reporter added the belief that the team is better when Mobley plays the five than they are when the All-Star is at the four.
Therein lies the crux of the argument for the Cavaliers to seriously consider how much Allen factors in to their plans when closing games. If Mobley is the superior player, and the one that needs to be prioritized, why get in the way of that?
The Cavaliers could theoretically pull the plug on the twin towers experiment altogether in 2025-26. However, if one does not care to get that extreme, continuing to make moves and coaching adjustments that clearly favor the young big man will still be necessary.
Mobley is only 24 years old. The Cavaliers big man is just starting to scratch the surface of his NBA ceiling. It would not be completely ludicrous to believe that with the right handling of his growth, Mobley can be an MVP candidate one day.
That kind of development will not come without consistently favoring the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year when making every calculated decision that has to do with this current contender. If that comes with minimizing Allen's role in Cleveland, it should be more than understandable.