NBA insider speculates Cavs will extend Evan Mobley, look to trade Jarrett Allen

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed his latest intel on the Cleveland Cavaliers on his podcast, and it appears the Cavs are more likely to keep Evan Mobley than Jarrett Allen this coming offseason.

Windhorst believes that Cleveland will offer Mobley a major extension this summer.

“Especially after watching this playoff run, they’re going to extend Mobley, probably at the max, probably in very early July,” Windhorst said of the Cavs.

However, he was not as high on Allen’s future with the team, sharing that the Cavs are likely to spend more time looking to deal the veteran big man than guard Donovan Mitchell.

“While there’s an extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fan bases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see, I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades and what that could bring,” Windhorst said.

Allen was one of the most consistent players for Cleveland this season, appearing in 77 games and averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 63.4 percent from the field.

However, he isn’t exactly the best fit next to Mobley on offense since neither big man is a proven 3-point shooter yet. The Cavs could look to trade Allen to get more players on the roster who fit Mobley’s and Mitchell’s skill sets.

The Cavs reportedly are optimistic about their chances of retaining Mitchell, who is extension eligible. Despite that, the Cavs could be a team in flux this summer with rumors leaking that Mitchell and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff have a “deteriorating” relationship.

Cleveland has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since trading for Mitchell, but it has failed to make it past the second round.

After a first-round exit last season against the New York Knicks, the Cavs needed seven games in the 2023-24 season to get past the Orlando Magic in the first round.

They then lost to Boston in the second round of the playoffs with Allen missing the entire series with a rib injury and Mitchell (calf) missing the final two games.

Mitchell’s future with the franchise may be the most important thing for the Cavs to figure out this offseason, but it appears that there will likely be changes to the roster in some way ahead of the 2024-25 season.