Pelicans trade proposal could land Jarrett Allen as Jonas Valanciunas replacement

While Valanciunas has been solid for New Orleans since his arrival, he often sat in crunch time. Larry Nance Jr. was the one who manned the center spot for the Pelicans in those minutes for defensive purposes. He did a serviceable job but also got overpowered by bigger players often.

Allen would fix that problem for New Orleans. He was right there among the league’s best in field goal percentage allowed at the rim during the regular season. His offensive package has expanded over the years as well. He averaged a career-high 16.5 points and 2.7 assists per game. Allen would be a tremendous fit on both sides of the floor next to Zion Williamson.

This deal would cost the Pelicans Brandon Ingram, but that should not be a death knell for this team. New Orleans was oddly mediocre when all three of Ingram, Williamson, and CJ McCollum were on the floor together. In fact, worse than mediocre.

They had a -3 net rating when all three playing at the same time during the regular season, via Cleaning the Glass. New Orleans’ +4.6 net rating for the season ranked sixth in the league, so it isn’t as if the rest of the Pelicans’ roster is failing those three.

Ingram isn’t the one with the most to blame of those three. However, he is entering the final season of his contract. The Pelicans could trade him and fill a big need on their roster and replace Ingram’s scoring punch with LeVert and Trey Murphy. It would be tough to trade him, but this deal likely would make New Orleans a more complete team.

Why the Cavaliers do it

The Cavs need more talent on the wing. LeVert, Niang, Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, and Dean Wade are the only players on their team between 6-foot-five and 6-foot-nine that averaged at least 20 minutes per game during the regular season. All of them with the exception of LeVert and Strus are specialists who aren’t asked to create with the ball in their hands much at all.

LeVert’s scoring pop shined during the playoffs, but his impact has been far too inconsistent for much of his career. He posted an effective field goal percentage 48.7% this season, far below league average. He’s also just a 34.1% career three-point shooter His playmaking comes and goes too, but he was much better this year. His 5.1 assists per game were a career-high.

Ingram represents a big upgrade over LeVert across the board offensively. On top of that, Mobley is ready to slide to the center spot full-time. Despite Cleveland’s lack of size in the backcourt and being short on stout perimeter defenders outside of Strus and Okoro, their defense was fine with Mobley at center. They posted a defensive rating of 111.6 in the playoffs in that alignment. That mark would’ve ranked sixth in the regular season.

Cleveland would add offensive firepower in a wide-open Eastern Conference outside of Boston. New Orleans gets defensive stability in the loaded West. Both teams become more snug from a fit perspective. The Pelicans and Cavs should try to make it happen .