What the Cleveland Cavaliers do this offseason could have drastic implications on not only their future, but the rest of the NBA for the foreseeable future as well. It sounds crazy to believe, but the Cavaliers actually hold a lot of weight over numerous teams this offseason.
Having the 3rd pick in the draft presents many options to the Cavs in terms of trade opportunities, but they could also bring in a player like Evan Mobley, who is the best big man prospect in this year’s draft. There then is the possibility of a Collin Sexton trade.
Sexton was drafted 8th overall by the Cavaliers in 2018 and has been their best player each and every year since LeBron James left Cleveland for Los Angeles, so why would they want to trade him? Maybe ask Kevin Love that question seeing as he is being paid $60.2M over the next two years to swat at the ball for a turnover when the referee hands him the ball.
As a result of Love eating up valuable cap space, the Cavaliers find themselves in a pickle this offseason because of their young assets needing new contracts. Collin Sexton is up for a contract extension and Cleveland is unsure about signing him to a long-term deal at this point not just because of Love’s situation, but because of Jarrett Allen’s pending free agency.
Allen came over to the Cavaliers in January from Brooklyn as part of the multi-team deal that sent James Harden to the Nets. Jarrett Allen immediately became a focal point in Cleveland’s rotation and as a result, they want to keep him long-term, but they cannot have everything!
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Drafting Evan Mobley 3rd overall, re-signing Sexton to a long-term deal and also bringing back Allen on a big, multi-year deal hypothetically can happen, but the Cavaliers are not going to hard cap themselves to do this. As a result, someone will have to be “sacrificed” by Cleveland and it could very well be Allen.
Evan Mobley has the chance to replace Jarrett Allen this offseason to save some money, which is why the Cavaliers could potentially look to execute a sign-and-trade involving their young big man this summer. A few weeks back, ESPN’s Bobby Marks talked about Jarrett Allen’s pending free agency and what the Cavs’ plan is regarding him.
“Cleveland could let Allen shop for an offer sheet but unlike [Clint] Capela, who entered a tough market with few options, Allen is likely to have plenty of suitors, ranging from Charlotte to New York and Toronto.”
The Charlotte Hornets are a team to look out for this offseason, especially since they need a big man. Cody Zeller was not the answer for them over the years and they have just under $30M in cap space right now, so going after Jarrett Allen definitely makes sense for them.
If they are going to let him walk in free agency, the Cavaliers are going to want to try and salvage some value for Allen, which is why a sign-and-trade between them and Charlotte could be in-play this offseason. This will be something to monitor in NBA trade rumors if Mobley ends up going No. 3 overall.
With this said, let’s take a look at a possible sign-and-trade scenario that would send Jarrett Allen to the Hornets this summer.
