Cavaliers May Not Be Ruling Out Major Trades In The Near Future

It's becoming more apparent that just because the Cleveland Cavaliers have extended key players does not mean they are not open to change.

Mar 2, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) moves between Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) and center Jarrett Allen (31) in the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a solid team the past couple of years, but they really haven't been much more than that.

Since the Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz shortly before the 2022-23 campaign, they have won 99 games and made it to the playoffs both seasons. They lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2023 and won one playoff series this past spring.

Again, solid, but not great.

However, Cleveland obviously believes enough in its long-term future to retain its "core four" for the foreseeable future, extending all of Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen this summer (the club extended Darius Garland in 2022).

That doesn't mean the rest of the NBA agrees.

In spite of Allen signing a three-year, $91 million extension with the Cavs last week, there is still a lack of confidence in the Cavs' frontcourt pairing of Allen and Mobley moving forward. As a matter of fact, there is still speculation that the Cavaliers could trade Allen before the February trade deadline.

Why? Because rival ballclubs are under the impression that the Allen-Mobley tandem is an awkward fit and won't last over the long haul.

While it doesn't necessarily matter what other teams think, it is a bit concerning that those in the know still have questions about Cleveland's core group.

There seems to be a rather significant lack of trust in Mobley further developing his game, even though new head coach Kenny Atkinson seems prepared to work to improve Mobley's offensive repertoire.

The lack of floor spacing for the Cavs was viewed as a big issue going into the offseason, but the Cavaliers have done nothing to address the problem. Actually, they have doubled down on it by handing long-term deals to both Mobley and Allen while failing to add another big man who can stretch the floor.

Further compounding the matter for Cleveland is the fact that rival Eastern Conference squads have made moves in an attempt to improve this summer.

Meanwhile, the Cavs have stood pat.

But is it entirely possible that the Allen extension is a deep fake and that the Cavaliers will end up trading him at some point?

That seems to be the belief around the league. Or, at the very least, teams aren't ruling it out.

After the extension, Allen now has five years remaining on his contract, so another club can comfortably trade for him knowing that he won't be able to bolt via free agency for quite some time.

Perhaps Cleveland is willing to give things one more go with its current roster but is also amenable to blowing things up (or at least retooling) if plans go awry.

For example, let's say the Cavs are merely playing decent basketball by the trade deadline. Would it be completely out of the realm of possibility to see the Cavaliers trade Allen in order to tweak the roster and gear it more toward postseason success?

That is certainly a possibility, and given that Allen is on a very reasonable salary, it would not be too difficult for Cleveland to do.

Originally, it looked like the Allen deal thoroughly squelched any chance of the Cavs making major moves over the next six months, but evidently, the talk around the NBA water cooler is that that is definitely not the case.