Jarrett Allen has agreed to a three-year, $91 million contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Allen had two years and $40 million in total left on his contract before agreeing to this extension, so in total, he is now locked in for $131 million over five years.
The value of Allen's deal, overall, looks very strong. The reported rookie extension teammate Evan Mobley signed, for example, could be worth more than twice this at $269 million over five seasons if he is able to earn Rose Rule eligibility through an All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year selection. Allen, a former All-Star who is still only 26 years old, is now locked into a deal that may be rising in price but doesn't become prohibitively expensive relative to the cap. Allen's 2024-25 salary will pay him a bit less than 13% of the cap, whereas his salary in the final year of this extension only takes him to a projected 15.83% of it.
Allen's long-term fit in Cleveland is still somewhat debatable. While he and Mobley are a dominant defensive duo, playing two non-shooting big men together creates serious offensive issues. The Cavaliers were upset in the first round of the 2023 postseason by the New York Knicks, and last season, Allen got hurt against the Orlando Magic in the first round and missed both the end of that series and the entire next round against the Boston Celtics.
There were trade rumors surrounding Allen earlier in the offseason, but the Cavaliers resisted all overtures, and after hiring Allen's former Nets head coach, Kenny Atkinson, to lead the team this season, it looks as though that partnership will now last at least a little bit longer.
The Cavaliers didn't make major changes to the roster this summer, but it has been a big offseason when it comes to keeping their own players. Donovan Mitchell agreed to a three-year extension earlier this offseason. Mobley got his own extension recently. Now, Allen joins those core players to hopefully build a long-term winner in Cleveland.
