Putting an end to all the speculations, the Cleveland Cavaliers extended one of the key pieces of their core – Jarrett Allen. With two years still left on his 2021 contract, the Cavs added a three-year, $91 million deal, bringing it to a five-year $131 million lucrative agreement, per Adrian Wojnarowski. Then again, Allen is one of the top big men in the Eastern Conference. And was one of the top free agents, too.

Despite his popularity with the Cleveland crowd, the dominant center’s refusal to take a painkiller injection for “bruised ribs” had many questioning his toughness and whether he could rise to the occasion when needed. Interestingly, throughout his absence in the playoffs, Jarrett was listed as questionable with bruised ribs. However, Koby Altman (Cavs President of Basketball Operations), in his season wrap-up presser, revealed he was grappling with “broken ribs”.

“To give you some insight to what Jarrett did, I mean Jarrett tried to give it a go … I know there was speculation of more stuff he could have done. It’s impossible to play through what he was playing through.” 

Another aspect that led to the aggressive trade rumors was his frontcourt fit with Evan Mobley – another crucial player of the “Core Four”. Rather than playing well together, the pair does better when one of them is off the court.

But it looks like Cleveland’s front office decided that it’s something they can manage. More importantly, retaining these major players points to the Cavs’ commitment to build a championship-contending team. And Jarrett Allen has an arsenal well-suited to help the ‘City of Champions’ achieve the goal.

So, where does this leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in terms of their finances?

The Cleveland Cavaliers salary cap and roster with the Jarrett Allen extension

To put it simply, with Allen also joining the “Core Four,” the Cavaliers are pretty much stretched thin on the financial front. Cleveland’s total payroll comes to $161,102,772 for the 2024-25 season. Adding the cap hold, which stands at $30,166,137, we arrive at the total cap, which is $191,268,909. It puts them more than $50 million over the cap maximum allowed by the NBA for the upcoming season.

We don’t have to tell you that the four key players of ‘The 216’ take up the majority of the cap space. Franchise superstar, Donovan Mitchell, signed a three-year $150.3 million deal while Mobley inked a five-year $224 million contract. As for Darius Garland, the 6’1 point guard is already locked in through the 2027-28 season. Here’s a look at their combined salaries through the coming four seasons.

In simpler terms, the fact that Cavaliers are ready to spend nearly all of their allotted cap space on their quartet of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland. Clearly, Cleveland places a lot of trust in this group that they have built.

As for the 2022 All-Star, despite a slow start to the 2023-24 season, Allen showcased his defensive prowess with a career-high stat line of 16.5 points and 2.7 assists. He also had 10.5 rebounds to go with it in 77 games.

What do you think of the whole situation? Can Allen continue to assist the Cavs as their go-to defensive stalwart? And can Mobley and Allen find something of a middle ground as they work towards their common goal? Let us know in the comments.