Allen needs to be better. But he doesn’t deserve all of the blame.
Koby Altman took time to discuss Jarrett Allen’s future with the Cleveland Cavaliers during his end-of-season press conference. He was critical of his big man, pointing to areas of concern while offering nuance to the discussion.
“I think Jarrett [Allen] is the easy target, right?” said Altman. “Let’s point to Jarrett in Game 5 when he wasn’t his best. I think he’d be the first to tell you that in that space, that’s where you need to elevate his level. But we all kind of did, right?”
Allen wasn’t effective in the final two games of the series. He combined for six rebounds across Games 4 and 5. His presence was hardly felt as the Cavs’ dream season went out with a whimper. But as Altman pointed out, Allen wasn’t the only Cavalier who fell short. He’s just the one facing the most heat.
That’s the unfortunate reality of being the unsung hero. Allen rarely gets credit when things go right. But he’s the player who receives most of the blame when everything goes wrong. That’s life as the most expendable member of a core. Whether you’re Kevin Love in the big three or Allen in the core-four. This is the weight you have to carry.
Because of this, Allen has found himself in trade rumors every summer. Much like Love before him. Altman spoke about sticking behind Allen and how the team can overcome adversity by embracing the journey that other players in Allen’s position have completed.
“Remember how many times he was in trade rumors?” said Altman. “And now, [Indiana’s] not who they are without Turner. So again, we got to take caution before we say we’ll be better without Jarrett — or we’ll find something better. Turner is an incredible example of how you stick with a guy and they’ve [Indiana] reaped the benefits of that.”
There’s a delicate balance to building a contender. You must always have your finger on the pulse, ready to make a move if it means you’ll get one step closer to your goal. But making the wrong move at the wrong time can be franchise-altering. Altman understands the dangers of overreacting to a playoff series.
“Jarrett remains incredibly important to us. We’re not a 64-win, one-seed without him,” said Altman. “You’re not gonna get much better if you’re talking about moving away from Jarrett.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean the Cavs will settle for complacency. We’ve already seen that Altman will pull the trigger on a deal if he feels it raises their ceiling. He made the original swing for Donovan Mitchell three years ago. And he shuffled the deck this season at the deadline by going after De’Andre Hunter. It’s all a balance.
“There’s always going to be urgency,” said Altman. “[but] we have patience because we keep knocking on that door… there’s a level of disappointment and frustration, and how do we come back and go after this thing again? That’s the space we want to live in.”
Altman has remained committed to the roster he’s built. As expected. The only question now is how much longer will he extend the leash to this core? The disappointment from this season is impossible to ignore. We have to imagine a pivot point is on the horizon if this team can’t write itself a new chapter soon.