Ranking every Cleveland Cavaliers' player by trade likelihood

No. 6: Jarrett Allen

Jarrett Allen has been absolutely dominant over the past few weeks for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Always an imposing presence inside on defense, Allen has broken out on offense, gobbling offensive rebounds and making crisp passing reads and dunking everything in sight. Allen may have been an All-Star in 2021-22, but he's having the best stretch of his career right now.

While it has helped the Cavs stay afloat without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, and it's a good problem to have, it does make his future with the team murkier. Has Allen played so well the Cavaliers will commit to keeping him around and making it work with Mobley? Has he outplayed Mobley to make the team question which big to trade? Or has Allen raised his own trade value to the point another team will pay the farm to land him?

It's a fascinating question; no player on the Cavs has a more fascinating month ahead of him for that reason.

No. 5: Dean Wade

Dean Wade gets maligned by fans, he sometimes gets buried in the rotation, and unfortunately he often is dealing with an injury. When you peel back all of those layers, however, you find a player who is a perfect fit as a role player on a contending team.

That should mean the Cavaliers keep him around; he is the perfect player to insert at power forward alongside Jarrett Allen, and his elevation into the starting lineup has paired nicely with Allen's explosion. He is under contract for two more seasons after this one at around $6, a deal they can absolutely afford to keep on the books.

At the same time, Wade is an archetype that would help any team trying to win, and that could work to the Cavs' benefit if they include him in a trade. With limited draft capital available to them, trading players with value is their best avenue to making a deal. It's not unthinkable that Wade could end up in a trade for that reason.