CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s an unmistakable disconnect between how the Cavs talk about Jarrett Allen and how they actually utilize him on the court.
As the Wine and Gold Talk Podcast team discussed in their latest episode, it’s starting to look less like a temporary strategy and more like the prelude to a trade.
“It’s starting to smell like trade in here to me with Jarrett Allen,” cleveland.com columnist Jimmy Watkins declared bluntly during the podcast. “Because it’s one thing for it to be a matchup, based thing. Okay, you want Evan Mobley as you’re loan big out there. It’s another thing for you to deliberately choose other big men over Jarrett Allen.”
The evidence is mounting.
Allen, a member of Cleveland’s “Core Four” and a $20 million per year player, has become a spectator in fourth quarters. In a recent win against Milwaukee, two-way big man Nae’Qwan Tomlin played six minutes in the fourth quarter, while minimum-salary center Thomas Bryant got three minutes. Allen’s fourth quarter playing time? Zero.
As cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor pointed out on the podcast, “Jarrett Allen is a spectator in fourth quarters. That’s just gonna keep happening over and over and over again.”
What makes this situation particularly fascinating is the stark contrast between the organization’s public praise for Allen and their actual on-court decisions.
Fedor highlighted this hypocrisy: “They talk about him a certain kind of way, right? And they always say that the view of Jarrett from the outside just doesn’t match the value that the organization places on him. And it’s like, when these things continue to happen, those words ring hollow. He’s a member of your Core Four, but you don’t treat him like a member of your Core Four.”
A moment after the game against the Miami Heat when the injury-riddled Cavs somehow pulled out the victory over a team that bested them two days prior, and Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson was raving about a player in the team’s locker room after Allen finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds. The Cavs’ big man wasn’t recognized once again.
“Jarrett Allen’s sitting right next to Kenny Atkinson, probably thinking, hey, all right, he’s talking about me. Yes! Finally, I’m about to get the recognition that I deserve. I just had 30 and 10. And then all of a sudden, Kenny’s like, Craig Porter Jr. Heroic effort. Stand up. And Jarrett’s probably like, ‘What the hell do I have to do around here?’”
The podcast team didn’t shy away from discussing potential trade scenarios.
Watkins suggested that the Cavs might have moved past the point of demanding a massive return for Allen: “I feel like now the Cavs would be like a Jarrett Allen-ish player at another position. Bang my line.”
Fedor provided a reality check for Cavs fans contemplating trade possibilities, noting that Allen’s $20 million salary would likely bring back players in a similar salary range: “Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, you’re talking about Malik Monk, Santi Aldama. If the Clippers collapse like Bogdan Bogdanovich, like those types of players.”
The implications are clear: despite public statements to the contrary, Allen appears increasingly expendable in the Cavs’ long-term plans. The question now isn’t if Cleveland sees Allen as part of their future, but rather when and for whom they’ll eventually move on from their All-Star center.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
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