The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have a long-term plan currently on the roster for the center position. However, a long-term option may have just opened up for the Lakers to take advantage of.
Some NBA insiders believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers could look to sign and trade Jarrett Allen, who is a restricted free agent this offseason. Allen is a talented young center that is going to get a moderate payday, and while Cleveland just acquired him last season, the groundwork is there for a deal.
The belief is that the Cavs could trade Allen if they land USC’s Evan Mobley in the 2021 NBA Draft. Mobley is the best big man prospect in the draft and the Cavaliers have the third pick in the draft. Cade Cunningham is going first overall and Mobley can land in Cleveland if Houston takes Jalen Suggs or Jalen Green.
The second that Mobley is not picked with the second overall pick the Lakers should get on the phone with the Cavaliers.
How the Los Angeles Lakers could trade for Jarrett Allen:
It is going to take some signing and trading on the Lakers’ side as well to make this happen. The following trade would be the one way for the Lakers to get a deal done.
Obviously, this is not the biggest package in the world but there might not be another team that is willing to pay Allen as much as the Lakers are. Thus, this allows the Cavaliers to get cheaper at center and gets assets for Allen that they can keep or then flip for more assets.
Again, the Lakers may have to overpay for Allen, so we could be looking at something in the realm of $25 million per season. This also means that Dennis Schroder’s contract would likely fall in the $12-15 million per season range. That is less than he was offered earlier this season, but his value has undoubtedly gone down.
If Allen signs for more, let’s just say $30 million, then we would see Schroder’s contract go up to $17-20 million. They can make it match either way.
That is how the trade is possible, now let’s break down why both sides could say yes to this trade.