Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen were the topic of trade speculation this summer. It doesn’t seem like the Cleveland Cavaliers had too much interest in deals for either. That was at least reportedly true regarding a possible Brandon Ingram for Allen trade. According to Jake Fischer, the Cavaliers “rebuffed any outreach that would have swapped Ingram for Jarrett Allen” earlier this summer.
It’s understandable why the New Orleans Pelicans would want to swap Ingram for Allen. New Orleans has long needed a center and that’s been especially true this season as they’ve been forced to start rookie Yves Missi. Also, Ingram is playing for a new contract and has recently signed with Klutch Sports Group to presumably help him make sure he gets the most money he can.
That second point is one of the things that will likely deter the Cavs from ever wanting to trade for Ingram in addition to the on-court fit concerns. They’re already over the luxury tax line and will need to go further over this offseason to retain the depth they have in Caris LeVert, Ty Jerome, and Sam Merrill. All three will be unrestricted free agents after this season.
Even though an Allen for Ingram swap doesn’t make sense for Cleveland right now, they will still have the ability to trade Allen at the deadline if they want to do so. The timing of when Allen signed his contract extension last summer will allow them to move him a few days before the trade deadline if they want to do so.
It would be surprising to see the team with the best record trade away a core player midway through the season. There’s no reason to believe that the Cavs would do that after the start they’ve had. But we at least know that one team would be interested in Allen’s services if they did make their starting center available.