To the frustration of some fans, the Cleveland Cavaliers have kept things in-house this offseason. Cleveland already signed Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley to lucrative maximum contract extensions. Now, the Cavs have completed the trifecta, signing Jarrett Allen to a three-year, $91 million maximum contract extension.
Locking up Mitchell, Mobley and Allen echoes the sentiment Cleveland has had all offseason. They were never looking to move on from any member of their core four. Instead, they continued believing this group was on the precipice of winning a championship and locking it down for the foreseeable future.
Granted, there will still be questions about how this foursome fits for the Cavs, especially between Mobley and Allen. Last season, neither showed signs of being floor-stretching big men until Mobley tried to implement a perimeter shot into his game. Regardless, Mobley's shooting touch didn't fully manifest, and, at times, Cleveland looked crowded on the interior and struggled to find consistent offense.
That concern clearly never came up in conversations between the Cavs and either Mobley or Allen's camps. Instead, Cleveland committed $366.2 million between the two players for nearly the next half-decade. While that amount is more than the GDP of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu combined, it's clear that the Cavs believe in this duo and its long-term fit.
How the Cavs duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can work long-term
Jarrett Allen will never become a floor-stretching, shot-blocking big like Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez that will make this partnership work. Instead, the pressure lies on Mobley and, more importantly, head coach Kenny Atkinson to make Mobley's three-point shooting and his playmaking a much more reliable weapon in his offensive repertoire.
Thankfully, not seeing Mobley's potential isn’t the dilemma for Atkinson. Consistently carving out a space for him to continuously show those skills. Using Mobley more often as a play initiator is one way Atkinson intends to achieve that. Another is utilizing Mobley as the big man in five-out sets, surrounding him with spacing. Atkinson has a vision, and with the money Cleveland committed to him as head coach and to Mobley and Allen, they believe Atkinson is the man for the job.
“With the roster that’s in place, there’s enough to take that next step, no doubt about it,” Atkinson said. But Evan is a big piece of that. I’m going to feel a huge responsibility to help him get to that top 15, top 20 [player in the league], whatever it is, top five. Why not? The skill level, the athleticism, and the human being, I don’t see why we can’t.”
Cleveland won't see the transformation of this partnership between Allen and Mobley overnight. But with the money the Cavs committed to this duo with either extension, the belief is that they'll get there sooner rather than later under Atkinson. It all hinges on Mobley's development, and thankfully, he's shown signs of being a floor-spacing, do-it-all, two-way big man. With Atkinson spearheading Mobley's growth, the results should manifest throughout the season, and when things finally click, Cleveland will be nearly impossible to score or defend against.
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