The Cleveland Cavaliers are down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the New York Knicks and it seems just a matter of time before their season ends. The Cavaliers could be in store for a busy offseason, which would give the New Orleans Pelicans an opportunity to swoop in and improve their roster.
The Cavs have one of the NBA's highest payrolls, and it's not getting any better as they enter the 2026 offseason. The luxury tax is looming for Cleveland, and because of that, some tough decisions could be coming.
What does this mean for the New Orleans Pelicans? The Cavs are a very expensive team that may be looking to shed some salary, and Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver are ready to be buyers.
The Cavs have several very good players, hence why they made it as far as they have in the playoffs. If I were the Pelicans I would be interested in most of their starters, except for maybe James Harden.
The Cavaliers have a big man the Pelicans would covet
While we don’t know yet who the Cavs could be looking to trade, we can take an educated guess. One player that has been in trade rumors before and likely could find himself there again is Jarrett Allen.
Guess what position the Pelicans could be looking to add to this offseason? If you said center, you would be correct.
Center is the one position on the court where the Pelicans don’t have a clear starter. They have Yves Missi who has been getting better and may be a solid starter in the future, but if you want to put a winning team on the court, I don’t think you can rely on him just yet.
Derik Queen could play at center and is clearly someone the Pelicans want in their starting lineup, but he is undersized for the position and gives up a lot defensively.
The Kevon Looney experiment didn’t work, and I don’t expect him to be back next season. This leaves the door open for the Pelicans to acquire someone outside the organization to take over as their starting center.
Jarrett Allen would give the Pelicans a true center
Allen is a solid starting center and at this point in his career you know what you are going to get. The big knock-on Allen will be that he can’t stretch the floor. It seems like it’s been forever that the Pelicans have been searching for a center who can also be a consistent three-point shooter.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of centers that can knock down threes and still give you the other things you want from the position like rebounding, shot blocking, and a solid paint presence. Allen gives you all these things, except the threes.
At the end of the day, I think acquiring Allen would greatly improve the Pelicans. His rebounding and shot blocking would be major upgrades for New Orleans.
Of course, a lot of this depends on who the Pelicans would have to trade in return for Allen. The Cavs center is making a reasonable $28 million next season and is under contract for three more seasons.
I think Allen would be a great fit in New Orleans and help fill one of their most glaring needs. If the Cavs fall to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals and look to shake up their roster, Dumars and Weaver absolutely need to get on their phones and see what it will take to acquire Allen.
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