Jarrett Allen keeps making the Cavaliers look smarter for holding onto him.
The Cleveland center, the longest-tenured player on the roster, has been with the team since the 2020-21 deal that brought him in. Since then, he’s done the kind of work that makes a front office think twice before ever moving him, and early in 2026-27 he’s again showing why he remains so important.
Allen’s name has come up in trade chatter for years, but Cleveland has kept him in place. That decision looks even better now.
He had his 91st game of 20+ points against the Bucks over the weekend, and the Cavaliers improved to 66 wins in those games. When Allen scores, Cleveland usually wins.
That was true in Game 7 against the Raptors in round one, too.
The big man has also taken a step forward from last season in both scoring and rebounding, and he’s even knocked down a pair of threes. The shot looks more comfortable now, with a smoother rhythm than the attempts he used to force in years past.
Jarrett Allen:"It was easy because my teammates were feeding me.""I think the coaches were telling everybody to get the ball to the bigs, reward the bigs."(h/t @SerenaWinters) pic.twitter.com/lF37xQwhk7
Against bigger lineups, Cleveland has simply let Allen go to work. He’s been effective on lobs and post touches, and he’s making the right reads when the ball finds him. Before the Milwaukee game, he had logged double-digits rejections in all five games to start the season, a sharp turnaround from the 0.8 rejections per contest he posted in 2025-26.
Allen also gives the Cavaliers something Evan Mobley does not. He brings a little more height and a more traditional low-post game, and the mid-range jumper has been there as well. He’s posted a positive net-rating in three straight games, and Cleveland was 2-0 on the year when he scored at least 20 points.
The three-ball has become part of the conversation, too. Allen hinted at it in the offseason, then hit one against the Magic in preseason. He opened the regular season by making his first two tries before missing against the Bucks.
Drain the triple... spam the celly 🤣Jarrett Allen knocks it down from deep on NBA TV! pic.twitter.com/ssYRoh37dz
Even in a small sample, that wrinkle matters. Allen can drift to the perimeter and help create driving lanes for Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, and Meleek Thomas. That only adds to his value.
Dunks, blocks, buckets, and now threes. Allen keeps showing up with whatever Cleveland needs, and he’s making the question feel simpler by the game: how could they possibly trade this guy?
In Other News...
Cavs Closing Decisions Made This Thunder Loss Even Tougher
The Cavaliers and Thunder spent most of the night trading punches in a game that felt like it could swing on every possession, with 23 lead changes underscoring just how tight it was. Cleveland had to juggle its rotation without Jaylon Tyson and Peyton Watson, which pushed the staff toward multiple three-guard looks and made every closing decision feel a little more delicate than usual.
Meleek Thomas was part of that equation in a big way, making his first NBA start and giving Cleveland a useful burst of energy and production in extended minutes. Even with that kind of contribution, the final stretch still came down to execution and shot-making, and the Cavaliers were left with a loss that stung because they were right there until the end. [Read more 🡒]
Cleveland Cant Afford To Lose This Rare Power Bat
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Adell hit .244 with a .740 OPS in 48 regular-season games, and Plutos point was less about the stat line than the fit. With the Guardians facing budget limits and another round of labor uncertainty ahead, he argued the front office should be willing to absorb the arbitration cost if it means keeping a hitter who brings a skill set the roster does not have much of, especially when compared with other pending decisions such as free agent Foster Griffin. [Read more 🡒]
Jarrett Allen Issue Is Becoming Hard For Cavs To Ignore
Jarrett Allen has been one of the Cavaliers most reliable interior presences, but his fourth-quarter role under Kenny Atkinson is starting to stand out for all the wrong reasons. Even when Allen is giving Cleveland strong minutes and anchoring the defense, the late-game rotation keeps shrinking around him, and that has become a talking point after the recent loss to Oklahoma City.
The concern now is bigger than one game. If Allen keeps getting pulled in closing stretches, the Cavaliers will have to keep answering a tougher question about how much they value a center who can help them all night but may not always be trusted when the game tightens up. With more matchups ahead, this is not the kind of issue that looks likely to fade on its own. [Read more 🡒]