The NBA’s negotiation deadline is not until the end of March, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have already had a highly successful negotiation. Brooklyn Nets acquired Houston Rockets superstar James Harden (without giving up on Kyrie Irving) in a big four-team deal that included the Cavs as facilitators. Cleveland hired pivot Jarrett Allen, 22, and veteran Taurean Prince, in a move that changes the franchise’s long-term outlook.
Here are the complete terms of the trade from what we know so far:
BKN receives: SG James Harden
HOU receives: SG Victor Oladipo, SG Dante Exum, SF Rodions Kurucs, 2022, 2024, 2026 BKN first round choices, 22 MIL first round, 2021, 2023, 2025, 2027 first round exchange BKN, future second round choice
IND receives: SG Caris LeVert, future choice of the second round
CLE receives: C Jarrett Allen, SF Taurean Prince
For the Cavs, they give up on Dante Exum, the choice for the first round of the Bucks in 2022, and a future second round to get Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince. Yogi Ferrell and Thon Maker will be released to make room for new additions.
For a while, it seemed that choosing Milwaukee’s first round could have some decent value, but as soon as Giannis Antetekounmpo signed his extension, that hope was gone. The choice will almost certainly be at the end of the first round, and while it is still an asset, the chances of the player selected with that choice being as good as Allen are very small.
Now, for the players. Prince was the 12th overall choice in 2016 and spent his first three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to Brooklyn. He is in the first year of a two-year $ 25.5 million contract. Prince weighs 1.80 m, 218 pounds and, although he doesn’t provide much defensively, he is a solid scorer who should be able to find success in an important role with the Cavs. His salary of $ 13 million next season can be negotiated if the Cavaliers want to continue the cycle of hiring bad assets. Prince was included in this deal to make the salary work, but he is far from a bad player. Maybe coach JB Bickerstaff will be able to work some defense on him.
The centerpiece of this business (at least for Cleveland) is Allen, who will turn 23 in April. He is in his fourth NBA season after being 22nd overall in 2017. At 1.80 m, 90 kg, he is a big size for a big man and it is impossible to forget his trademark afro hair. Allen is an excellent rim guard and has the potential to become perhaps the best defensive center in the NBA, not because of his rim protection ability, but because of his fast feet and elite length (7 feet-6 wingspan) . He has no problem switching to smaller players on the perimeter, and more than staying out there.
Andre Drummond is a good defender on the inside and holds the league’s best defensive ranking so far this season, but he struggles to defend himself outside the area. Allen doesn’t have that limitation, which is why this exchange is such a huge victory for the Cavs. Drummond is turning 28 and is likely to be traded before this year’s deadline, as his $ 28 million salary will be very attractive to cap Hell’s teams. Drummond obviously played a big role with the Cavs this season, but he was never a long-term character. Allen is, and it is a wonder that he cost so little.
Allen never averaged more than 26.7 minutes per game, which is why his numbers don’t look so impressive: in 12 games this season, he has managed 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks, while he only committed 1.8 fouls. He is shooting 68% of the field (more than 20 percentage points more than Drummond) and 75% of the free-throw line. Allen also ranks 14th in the defensive standings, a number that should skyrocket when he starts playing with the best defensive team in the NBA.
Once Drummond is out of the question, either in the negotiation deadline or after the season, Allen will finally be a full-time starter with Cavs for the first time in his NBA career and based on his 36-point average, that’s something for which yearn.
Allen for 36 minutes in 2020-21: 15.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.1 blocks
What Allen doesn’t offer now is a refined offensive game or floor spacing. He is almost a significantly better version of Tristan Thompson, but with the potential to develop his scoring ability. Allen will be a restricted free agent next season, and extension talks between his camp and the team are likely to start immediately.
It is unclear how much he will demand because he does not have pure statistics to match other young players who are being paid well.
Final grade: A ++
There’s a very real chance that Allen’s long-term contract with the Cavs is even more of a bargain than what the team gave up to get him, and that was a road robbery.
