While the Cleveland Cavaliers plan on re-signing Jarrett Allen, the cost to do so is likely to come at a steep cost for the club.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com wrote that a discussion with one agent offered a scenario of Allen’s contract negotiations that may involve as much as $125 million.
“I talked to an agent who could picture Allen’s talks starting at $100 million for five years and going up — perhaps to $125 million, $25 million a year,” Pluto wrote. “It’s not a maximum deal, but it’s close.”
Allen was acquired by the Cavaliers from the Brooklyn Nets in January as part of the multi-team deal that sent superstar guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets to the Nets.
At just 23 years of age, Allen is still developing into the talented player that the Cavs were expecting when they acquired him.
Since joining the Cavaliers, Allen has started 39 of the 50 games he’s played in and averaged 13.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
Those numbers are close to what Allen had been providing the Nets since the start of his second season in 2018. Exactly how much more Allen can deliver on the scoring front remains a question mark, but is something that’s interesting to contemplate.
When the negotiating does commence, the expectation is that the Cavaliers will quickly attempt to work out a deal on their own rather than be blindsided by another massive deal that they’d have to match in order to keep Allen.
The Cavaliers will presumably not be major players in the overall free agent market, which means that they’ll be seriously focusing on getting Allen’s contract situation settled. Even if the cost is more than they expected.
