The latest intel out of Cleveland is that Donovan Mitchell is expected to sign the four-year, $208.5 million contract extension the Cavaliers will put on the table as soon as they are able and that they do not plan to trade any of their core four: Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
That last part is a little bit of a surprise. Allen is a good player who averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game for the Cavaliers last season, and is a plus defender in the paint, but he has never meshed with Mobley. The Cavaliers had a +0.3 net rating this season when Allen and Mobley shared the court, but that improved to +1.5 when Mobley was on without Allen, and was +5.6 when Allen was on without Mobley.
Why not trade Allen (Mobley is younger and a better defender, he’s not going anywhere)? Because Mitchell doesn’t want it, Marc Stein reported in a recent notebook.
“One reason I’ve heard for the Cavaliers’ reported reluctance to trade Jarrett Allen despite ongoing questions about Allen’s fit in the same frontcourt alongside the emerging Evan Mobley: Donovan Mitchell is often described as an Allen fan who doesn’t want to lose him as a teammate.”
Until Mitchell signs that extension (if he does), he has a lot of leverage. Even after he signs it, the Cavaliers are not going to suddenly pivot and do the opposite of what their star wants, that would reflect poorly and create unnecessary tension. Cleveland is likely going to run it back.
All of that puts a lot of pressure on the next coach — Pelicans’ assistant James Borrego is the frontrunner — to do more with a roster that has been the No. 4 seed in the East each of the last two seasons and made the second round once.
