Jarrett Allen checks a lot of boxes for the center-needy Lakers, but his price tag and relative playoff struggles should leave the Lakers weary of him as a long-term solution.
With the need for a center being the big, looming question over the summer for the Lakers, we’ll be taking a look at a number of potential targets, both via free agency or trade. Today, we wrap up with the Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen.
Jarrett Allen is a very good NBA center. I don’t think this is controversial at all, but I think it’s important to lead with this because, in the big picture, any NBA team would be lucky to have him.
He’s been an All-Star, has finished in the top 10 in voting for the Defensive Player of the Year award twice and, in his four-and-a-half seasons with the Cavs as a full-time starter, he’s averaged a double-double with 14.7 points and 10.1 rebounds.
He also has nearly all the physical traits and intangibles you’d desire. He has really good size and length, plays with great motor, is a plus-athlete and has a ton of give-a-damn about being a good teammate and playing with the right spirit.
So, if he’s productive, as all the tools you’d want in a big, and plays hard, what’s the problem? Nothing. But just because there’s nothing wrong with a player doesn’t always make him the right player.
How would he fit with the Lakers?
To be clear, I’m not arguing against Allen as a good — or even great — fit for the Lakers. At least not really. Because all the same positives he’s brought to the Cavs over the last four-plus seasons, he would absolutely bring to the Lakers.
Strong rim protection? Check. A wonderful pick-and-roll partner who sets good screens and is a great lob threat, but also can catch on the move, stop, pivot, and score with a hook or a banker off the glass? You bet. A really good rebounder who can do damage on both backboards? Indeed. Someone who plays with great motor and will run the floor on both ends and never complain about his role? Yes, yes, yes.
There are no problems here. What there are, however, are narrower paths in your stylistic approach to playing on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, Allen is mostly limited to playing drop coverage in the pick and roll and is not someone you’d want to deploy onto the perimeter very often. While he will venture out to the arc when required and as part of his rotational responsibility, Allen is much more comfortable in and around the paint to contest shots at the basket.
With that, defending stretch bigs who are either popping out after setting screens or spacing out above the arc can be more of a challenge and might require more creative workarounds via pre-switching or by executing early rotations that allow Allen to hang out near the rim.
Switching is also less of an option, particularly against the types of offensive players who are equally adept at driving or shooting off the dribble threes. Against the Pacers in the second round these past playoffs, Allen fell victim to Tyrese Haliburton’s heroics down the stretch where the Indy star was able to create separation and get to the rim for big baskets on more than one occasion.
There’s no shame in getting beaten by the league’s very best players, of course. But I think it’s fair to wonder that on a team being constructed around Luka Dončić and for head coach JJ Redick, a baseline level of effectiveness within switching defenses is going to be very important. And while it’s debatable if Allen would clear that bar, this aspect of defense is probably the weakest part of his defensive profile, and accounting for that when trying to build a title team as a closing piece in Luka-based lineups, is a real question.
Which brings me to…
How much would the Lakers have to give up?
Allen being as good as he is and as important as he is to the Cavs would, presumably, make his asking price very high. Again, he’s made an All-Star team and is one of the better bigs in the league with his (somewhat narrow, yet still valuable) skill set.
Further, while Allen has a three-year, $100 million extension kicking in the summer of 2026, this upcoming season, he makes just $20 million — a relatively small number for a mid-to-high-level starter at just a shade under 13% of the salary cap. And even when accounting for his extension — which could be construed by some as pricey — as the cap is projected to go up 10% for the next several seasons, his deal will almost certainly be viewed as neutral to slightly positive if his production and general impact remains what it is.
In other words, I do not expect the Cavs to be actively shopping him. And if they did ultimately put him on the market, it would be to get an equally impactful starter-level player who might better balance their roster rather than looking to offload him for a lesser return just because there is some duplication between him and Evan Mobley.
How realistic of a target is he?
Due to all of the above, I don’t think Allen is a very likely target for this version of the Lakers.
Not only would the Cavs drive a hard bargain to let him go, but the fit isn’t quite as pure as it could be defensively, even though he’s one of the better bigs in the league at what he does.
Because, ultimately, if you’re going to invest that much into a player from the standpoint of what you’re going to have to give up to get him, what you’re going to pay him on his contract moving forward, and what sort of minutes allocation those sorts of investments ultimately would require, the fit should be a bit cleaner than what Allen would provide.
Again, this is nothing against Allen. If he fell into the Lakers lap or if this team was dealing with different circumstances, I’d be celebrating his acquisiton.
But, considering all the factors and the possibility of finding better fits, I think the Lakers would do well to look at different options.
You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegold.