Kofi Inkoom
NBA insider Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid reports that the New Orleans Pelicans are eyeing a trade for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen.
Despite the Cavaliers’ strong stance against trading any of their core four players—Allen, Mobley, Garland, and Mitchell—this summer, Evan believes the Pelicans might put Brandon Ingram, who the Cavs are significantly interested in, on the trade block to entice Cleveland to trade Garland or Allen.
This season, Garland posted averages of 18.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, shooting 44.6% from the field, 37.1% from three-point range, and 83.4% from the free-throw line. His salary for next season is set at $36.7 million.
Allen, under contract for two more years at $40 million, averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks, with shooting percentages of 63.4% from the field and 74.2% from the free-throw line.
The Cavaliers advanced past the Orlando Magic in a seven-game first-round playoff series but fell to the Boston Celtics in five games in the second round. Allen missed the Celtics series due to a rib injury.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, some Cavaliers were frustrated with Allen’s decision to forgo a pain-numbing injection to play through his rib injury.
Cleveland plans to appoint a new head coach before making any roster changes. Donovan Mitchell is expected to sign a contract extension with the Cavaliers, but as always in the NBA, nothing is certain until the deal is finalized.
For their coaching vacancy, the Cavs have been linked to several candidates, including Johnnie Bryant, Terry Stotts, David Adelman, Kenny Atkinson, Chris Quinn, James Borrego, Micah Nori, Dave Joerger, Alex Jensen, and Steve Hetzel.