The Los Angeles Lakers would “kill” to get Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen in a hypothetical sign-and-trade for LeBron James, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst during an interview on ESPN 850 Cleveland.
“There is a thought process out there in Los Angeles, and I think if the Cavs were interested, then the Lakers would sit up in attention right now, that they would sign-and-trade LeBron for Jared Allen.
“And I think if the Cavs were willing to do that, they could have LeBron. Obviously, LeBron would have to want to sign with the Cavs, but if your pathway to pay LeBron the money is to trade Jared Allen for him, the Lakers would kill for Jared Allen. Kill for him, all right? They would do that deal in 17 tenths of the second.”
Windhorst strongly emphasized the word “kill” twice, so it’s clear, based on his reporting, that the Lakers would love to have Allen on their team if possible.
The 28-year-old Allen has played nine NBA seasons for the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers. He just averaged 15.4 points on 63.8 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds per game. Allen would solve the Lakers’ current question mark at center, as incumbent starter Deandre Ayton can decline his player option to become a free agent.
Allen is under contract for three more seasons at an average of $30.2 million per year. Given his production, his age and past success, landing him would be a great deal for the Lakers as they look to build their future around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, who just agreed to a four-year max extension to stay in town.
James’ NBA future is uncertain, but what is certain is that he can still play after 23 seasons in the league. The 41-year-old just dropped 20.9 points on 51.5 percent shooting, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game. He also led the Lakers near the tail end of their season when Dončić and Reaves were out with injuries and guided L.A. to a five-game series win over the Houston Rockets in the first round.
Heading back to Cleveland would mark a return to his home state of Ohio and a return to where he spent 11 NBA seasons, highlighted by leading the Cavs to the 2016 NBA title.
The hypothetical James-Allen sign-and-trade is an interesting scenario, to say the least, but as Windhorst noted, James would of course need to be up for signing with the Cavs for it to happen.
As of now, we don’t fully know what James’ 2026-27 season will hold, but the answer should reveal itself fairly soon as free agency negotiations can begin on June 30 (pending free agents can also agree to re-sign with their 2025-26 team before then, though).
