The Charlotte Hornets have already been one of the offseason’s busiest teams, but the conversation around their frontcourt may not be finished yet. After bringing in Naz Reid and veteran wings Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, Charlotte still has room to chase another major upgrade - and NBA insider Jake Weinbach has pointed to Jarrett Allen as a name to watch.
Weinbach called the Hornets “a viable landing spot for Jarrett Allen if the Cavs decide to move the rim-protecting center this offseason. Charlotte has an abundance of assets and tax space to emerge as a realistic suitor for Allen, while Cleveland is reportedly open to exploring trades.”
That kind of move would reshape both teams. For Charlotte, Allen would give the Hornets a legitimate defensive anchor next to Reid and raise the ceiling of a roster that is trying to position itself as a playoff threat in the East. For Cleveland, it would mean sacrificing one of its most important frontcourt pieces, but it could also open the door to greater flexibility.
The proposed deal would send Jarrett Allen to Charlotte in exchange for Grant Williams and Moussa Diabate. From a cap standpoint, the move works cleanly enough.
Allen is set to make $28 million, while Williams’ $14.2 million contract and Diabate’s $2.4 million deal add up to $16.6 million in expiring money for Cleveland. In that setup, the Cavaliers would create an $11.4 million trade exception.
Charlotte, meanwhile, would have no trouble taking on Allen’s salary. The Hornets’ payroll sits at $174 million, and they also hold a $40.7 million trade exception from the LaMelo Ball deal. That gives them the flexibility to absorb Allen’s contract without much strain.
On Cleveland’s side, the basketball fit would change quickly. Losing Allen would leave the Cavs thinner in the middle and likely push Evan Mobley into more minutes at center. Still, Williams and Diabate would give them something to work with in return.
Williams brings the kind of steady, useful skill set teams value in rotation pieces. In 36 appearances last season, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, and 0.5 assists per game while shooting 42.6% from the field and 38.8% from three. He also has experience playing the 5 in small-ball lineups, which adds another layer to his value.
Diabate offers a different kind of upside. After a breakout season with the Hornets, he averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game. His athleticism and rim-running ability make him an intriguing developmental piece for Cleveland.
Even so, the real appeal for the Cavaliers may be the flexibility that comes with moving Allen. With Cleveland emerging as a suitor for LeBron James this summer, the idea is that creating enough cap space to re-sign James Harden and offer James a strong deal would matter. In that scenario, trading Allen could also improve the Cavaliers’ chances of landing James, and potentially Draymond Green as well.
For Charlotte, Allen would bring something the roster doesn’t currently have enough of: a proven interior force. He averaged 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game in the regular season, and his rim protection would immediately matter for a team trying to make a real push. Pairing him with Reid would give the Hornets a frontcourt built on size, defense, and versatility, with Reid able to stretch the floor while Allen handles the paint.
There is still a real cost to making the move. Diabate had a strong season, and Charlotte’s recent run from the start of the 2026 calendar year showed that the current group can compete. The Hornets also have Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller in place as the franchise cornerstones, so there’s an argument for letting the roster grow together instead of making another big swing.
But the Ball situation changes the equation. With LaMelo Ball out of the rotation and several new pieces now in the mix, Charlotte is entering a different phase. Chemistry will have to be rebuilt, and that makes a veteran like Allen more attractive if the goal is to accelerate the timeline.
In the end, this comes down to what the Hornets want most. If the priority is to develop what they already have, moving Diabate for Allen may feel too aggressive. If Charlotte wants to chase contention now, Allen is exactly the kind of frontcourt piece that could make the idea look a lot more serious.
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For Hornets fans, though, the real draw is the rookie chase, especially with Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg among the names in the set. The only thing still hanging over the release is the price tag, which Topps has not announced yet, leaving collectors to wonder how steep the entry point will be when the pre-order window opens. [Read more 🡒]
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The appeal is obvious after Watsons recent season in Denver, when he flashed real value on both ends and looked like a player whose game was starting to turn a corner. The risk is just as clear, though, because the sample is still small and the cost of chasing that kind of promise can be steep for a team that needs every asset to count. If Charlotte is serious, the question is not whether Watson fits the profile of a worthwhile swing, but how much of its future it is willing to put on the table to get him. [Read more 🡒]
Gilbert Arenas Just Flipped The LaMelo Play In Blame Game
Gilbert Arenas has a habit of turning a familiar basketball argument on its head, and this time the debate circles back to a Charlotte moment that still lingers. LaMelo Ball was fined by the NBA after a hard foul that sent Bam Adebayo out of a play-in game late in overtime, and the play quickly became part of the larger conversation about how much force was too much in a game with so much on the line.
Arenas, though, pushed the discussion in a different direction by disputing the criticism aimed at Ball and suggesting the focus should not be on Charlottes guard at all. His take adds another layer to a sequence that already drew plenty of attention, even if the larger claim around the injury and Miamis handling of it remains exactly the kind of thing that keeps the blame game humming long after the final buzzer. [Read more 🡒]