Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen (31) drives to the basket as Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan (11) defends and Nikola Vucevic watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND — The Cavs have locked up another member of their Core Four.
Continuing the theme of this summer, Cleveland and center Jarrett Allen agreed on a team-friendly three-year, $91 million maximum extension, sources tell cleveland.com. Allen becomes the third key Cavaliers player — along with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley — to sign an enormous extension in the last month.
Allen’s deal will guarantee him $131 million over the next five years. Sources say it’s a straightforward contract, with no player option in the final year.
Prior to Wednesday’s agreement, Allen had two years and $40 million left on a deal he inked in 2021.
An All-Star in 2022, the 26-year-old Allen has become indispensable for the Eastern Conference contending Cavs who are coming off back-to-back playoff berths, including a semifinal loss to the eventual NBA champion Celtics a few months ago.
Over the last three years, Cleveland is 125-76 with Allen in the lineup and just 18-27 without him.
This past season, Allen averaged a career-high 16.5 points to go with 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He also recorded 42 double-doubles, the most in his career and most by a Cavalier since LeBron James in 2017-18.
Before an untimely rib injury in the first round of the playoffs that made Allen inactive for the final eight games, the team’s offensive fulcrum and defensive linchpin averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds while shooting 68% from the field, rewriting the narrative about him as a playoff performer — a nasty reputation that came as a result of Cleveland’s playoff flameout in 2023.
There has been speculation about whether the Cavs would be willing to entertain offers for Allen — or another member of the Core Four — this offseason. Despite leaguewide interest, Cleveland entered the summer with a plan to keep the roster intact, rebuffing all offers.
In an era with new salary cap restrictions and limitations as a result of the revamped collective bargaining agreement, the Cavs now have their four most important players — Allen, Mitchell, Mobley and Darius Garland — all signed through at least the 2026-27 season, setting the franchise up for sustainable long-term success.
