NBA Trade Block Big Board: Ideal Landing Spots for Top 10 Targets | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

A strong — so far perfect — start for the Cavaliers won’t quite quiet trade speculation in Northeast Ohio. Not when past playoff runs have made the non-shooting frontcourt tandem of Allen and Evan Mobley seem unsustainable. And certainly not according to NBA insiders Marc Stein reported that Allen was “essentially committed” to signing his three-year, $91 million deal in early August, making him trade-eligible ahead of this season’s trade deadline.

The best landing spot: New Orleans Pelicans

Sorry to grab the low-hanging fruit here, but the playoff hopefuls Pelicans can’t possibly keep this center rotation together all season, right? Whether New Orleans leaves journeyman Daniel Theis or rookie Yves Missi with the starting center spot, it will have an underwhelming, overmatched option at No. 5.

Allen, on the other hand, is a former All-Star who controls the interior about as well as anyone you’ll find. He may not have many modern perimeter enhancements in his arsenal, but he deftly handles the traditional duties of protecting the paint, cleaning the glass and finishing around (and often above) the rim.