There's a little more than two weeks until the annual NBA trade deadline, marking the last moment that teams can agree to trades to improve either their regular season or NBA Draft chances. With 60% of teams currently rolling with a winning record, many will be looking to make improvements at this year's deadline, hoping their moves are enough to make a serious playoff push.

It's already happened with the New York Knicks acquiring OG Anunoby and the Indiana Pacers landing Pascal Siakam. But, according to NBA Insider Matt Moore, the New Orleans Pelicans could be angling to make a move to acquire Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.

‘Jarrett Allen is the name most commonly associated with the Pelicans. They're looking to reset their center position a little more in the age timeline of their stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Jonas Valanciunas on an expiring contract could wind up being moved which would be smart given how much interest there is in centers across the league, and his $15 million expiring deal will be an asset.'

Moore's intel is correct since several league sources can confirm to ClutchPoints that Allen is a player the Pelicans have had on their radar for quite some time. On paper, the fit between Allen, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson has the potential to be lethal and, as the rest of the young Pelicans take flight and leave the nest, could make New Orleans an NBA powerhouse in no time. Unfortunately, for the sake of the Pelicans and their fans, a source shared with ClutchPoints that the Cavs aren't keen to quickly move on from Allen this season.

Cavs likely won't trade Jarrett Allen 

Jarrett Allen with fireworks behind him

While Cleveland's meltdown last postseason against the New York Knicks with Allen at the center of it all is still in everyone's recent memory, the Cavs typically aren't an organization to overreact to just a small, five-game sample. Postseason or not, Cleveland's front office is more than aware that All-Star caliber big men who can defend without fouling on top of a relatively clean bill of health don't grow on trees. Allen, who is on the third year of his five-year, $100 million extension, fits that mold, and the same sources shared that the Cavs aren't going to entertain trading him unless it's an offer that completely blows Cleveland's front office away.

The Cavs' mentality regarding Allen is only emboldened based on how well the big man has performed after Evan Mobley has been sidelined due to knee surgery. In this fifteen-game stretch, Allen has averaged 18.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 32.3 minutes per game. More impressively, Cleveland is 12-3 in this stretch without Mobley because of how hard Allen has been playing on either end of the floor. So unless the Pelicans offer one of either Williamson or Ingram or a package centered around Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and multiple first-round selections, sources confirm to ClutchPoints that the Cavs will politely decline anything less than that for Allen.

That's not to say New Orleans should delete Cleveland from their contacts and block their number, abandoning any chance of trying to land Allen. Instead, a source shared that these talks may be stalled until this summer, based on how Allen and Mobley look together down the stretch of the regular season and however far the Cavs go come playoff time.

If it continues to become clear that Mobley is better suited as Cleveland's center of the future, especially if Mobley's outside shot doesn't manifest. In that case, sources say the Cavs would be more open to trading Allen to acquire more spacing and shooting to surround Mobley as Cleveland's primary center.

That's not to say that this partnership between Mobley and Allen isn't tenable – the Cavs are 88-53 when the defensive duo plays together. But, spacing-wise, it isn't an ideal fit for a Cleveland team trying to play more of a modern offensive style rather than leaning on what worked in the late 80s and throughout the 90s.

So, for now, Allen will remain with the Cavs, helping keep the team afloat while Mobley's knee is on the mend. Depending on what happens to finish this season, Cleveland could start to gauge the market on opposing interest in acquiring Allen. No matter what, the Pelicans will likely still be there as they have been for some time, waiting to swoop in and get their dream big man for their young country.