REPORT: Pelicans, Other Playoff Contenders Interested In Jarrett Allen
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a rather unexpected situation at the moment.
Starting point guard Darius Garland is out for several weeks due to a fractured jaw, and starting power forward Evan Mobley is out for six-to-eight weeks due to undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Now, other teams are looking into potentially acquiring some of Cleveland’s other star talent.
On Wednesday, Yahoo Sports Senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote an article in which he described how multiple NBA playoff contenders have interest in acquiring Cavaliers starting center Jarrett Allen.
Here is what Fischer had to say:
“It’s easy to drop Jarrett Allen from the pantheon of NBA centers, what with the two-way brilliance of [Joel] Embiid and Nikola Jokić, Domantas Sabonis’ All-NBA orchestration in Sacramento and Rudy Gobert’s resurgence as the game’s greatest rim protector. Yet Allen remains high on that proverbial list, with two years remaining on a five-year, $100 million contract that will draw, and has drawn, plenty of interest from playoff contenders like the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources told Yahoo Sports.”
After missing Cleveland’s first five games of the season due to injury, the 25-year-old is in the midst of another productive campaign.
Dec 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) stands on the court in the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Allen is averaging 12.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and one block per game in 22 contests. His 67.2% field goal percentage currently ranks third in the NBA.
However, Fischer writes that the Wine and Gold are firmly devoted to their young star core of Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Donovan Mitchell.
“Cleveland officials have maintained a commitment to this core of four All-Star talents, according to league sources, even with all the incessant chatter among rival executives that Mitchell will inevitably bolt when he can reach the unrestricted market in 2025.”
