Jarrett Allen Re-Signs a $100 million, five-year contract with the Cavaliers in free agency
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Jarrett Allen has agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract extension, which will bring him back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When the Cavaliers acquired Allen from the Brooklyn Nets as part of the massive James Harden transaction, they essentially put themselves in a difficult situation. Numerous people anticipated that Cleveland would offer the 23-year-old a long-term contract throughout the offseason because they were aware of his eligibility for restricted free agency.
The franchise “may unintentionally invite offers from other teams designed to drive up his price because of the assumption the Cavaliers will pay to retain him,” according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, who provided an explanation at the time of the transaction.
That’s usually one of the risks associated with limited free will. One of the more prominent recent instances had the Sacramento Kings offering Zach LaVine a four-year contract worth $78 million, which the Chicago Bulls were forced to accept.
In other situations, though, teams can be hesitant to make any offer sheets if they anticipate a match. This occurred with Cleveland and Tristan Thompson in the 2015 summer as the two sides’ talks stretched on.
With the Cavaliers, Allen performed admirably, giving them every incentive to include him in their long-term plans.
The 6’11” center averaged 13.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 51 games. He also shot 60.9 percent from the field. His best performance came in a 112-96 win over the Houston Rockets on Feb. 24. The center finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks while missing just one of his 11 shot attempts.
Given his age, Allen is a logical fit for a franchise building around Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and Isaac Okoro. The Cavaliers also selected USC center Evan Mobley with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft to add to their young core.
However, Cleveland is taking some clear risks with this decision.
In the modern NBA, big men don’t always need to cost more. When the organisation ultimately bought Andre Drummond out in March after his trade market collapsed, it witnessed this personally.
Although this isn’t comparable to the Dallas Mavericks’ max agreement for Kristaps Porzingis, the Cavaliers may end up paying a premium for Allen when a comparable player could be obtained for a significantly lower sum of money.
