The prevailing thought in Cleveland has been that if any member of the core four is the first to be in the market for a new real estate agent, it would be Jarrett Allen. Chris Mannix just confirmed as much about the Cleveland Cavaliers center.
Ahead of the regular season that is rapidly approaching, Mannix took a deep dive inside the biggest NBA storylines for 2025-26. The NBC insider had one section focused on the names to watch before the trade deadline. Allen was among the candidates.
Mannix wrote, "Elsewhere, teams are monitoring how Cleveland starts the season. ... Most believe [Evan] Mobley’s long-term future is at center and Allen, a durable rim protector who shot a league-high 70.6% last season, could be available for the right mix of rotation players."
The former All-Star center joined Lauri Markkanen and Nikola Vucevic as the three key names featured by Mannix. It is fully understandable why other teams would want to get their hands on Allen in the upcoming season. The question is: Do the Cavaliers budge?
Allen’s future in Cleveland looks shakier by the day as rumors intensify
Is this a situation where the writing is on the wall? There has been a ton of speculation over the years of if/when Mobley's rise would force the Cavaliers' hand in moving on from their trusted two-way center.
This really does all heavily rely on the rising star in Cleveland. If the Cavaliers do get definitive reason to believe their team is better off with Mobley operating as the full-time starting center, Allen stands in the way of that.
On one hand, anyone could ask themselves why would Cleveland not just simply slide their veteran big man over to the bench and have the best one-two center punch in the entire NBA? To that, a secondary question that would be posed asks: How many backup centers in the league are set to make around $30.2 million on annual average once their new extension kicks in?
Koby Altman did make it clear there is no rush to mess with what is believed to be a championship formula in Cleveland. However, the NBA moves rapidly by contrast. Mobley has already looked the part of an improved player and it is only preseason.
No one is pushing Allen out of the door in Cleveland. Despite that, if the twin towers frontcourt falls out of favor between now and February, there could be some definitive interest in keeping a close eye on the situation.