Jarrett Allen

Jarrett Allen is one of the best young centers in the NBA. He is already an elite rebounder and rim protector and finishes around the rim well, providing an impact in the paint. He agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a restricted free agent.

That isn’t a terrible deal for a 23-year old that is only scratching the surface of his potential. However, given how the NBA game has changed, it is difficult for a center to be worth that price tag. It is even more difficult when the team creates a logjam at the position.

Allen lands on this list mostly because of the peculiar thought process by the Cavaliers to select USC big man Evan Mobley with the third pick in the 2021 NBA Draft before signing Allen to his new contract.

There is hope that they can coexist in the lineup given Mobley’s versatility and developing offensive game, but that is going against conventional wisdom with where the NBA game is heading. Having one big man is hard enough to fit into a lineup, but two, especially when your last lottery pick, Isaac Okoro, is not a great shooter yet either?

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The roster construction makes little sense, and when you ask who was Cleveland competing against to keep Allen at that number, it makes it even odder. Waiting to match a four-year deal, if it ever came, would have made some more sense, especially knowing you had Mobley now officially in the fold.