The Cavs playoff exit still stings, doesn’t it? After a monster 64-win season that had Cleveland buzzing and thinking championship, getting absolutely steamrolled in five games by the Indiana Pacers in the second round? That’s a tough pill to swallow. And when a team with that kind of regular-season dominance just flames out in the playoffs, the offseason finger-pointing starts immediately. Right now, a whole lot of that heat, and a whole lot of fan frustration, is being aimed squarely at their big man, Jarrett Allen.
Just to pour a little more gasoline on that fire, former Cavs champion Channing Frye went on his podcast and dropped some absolutely brutal, controversial truth bombs about Allen that have lit up the Cavs fanbase.
Frye, who’s never been one to bite his tongue, especially on his “Road Trippin’” podcast, didn’t just offer a little constructive criticism of Allen. He basically put a question mark on the 27-year-old’s entire ability to show up when it really matters. Yeah, Frye gave Allen his props as a “good dude” and a legit “All-Star caliber player in the regular season,” but then he hit them with the haymaker: “Jarrett Allen is a great NBA player. But if you’re trying to win a championship? No other big man respects him.” OOF.
And Frye wasn’t just talking trash. He backed it up with what he saw–or rather, didn’t see–from Allen in those high-pressure playoff moments. “He’s not physically dominant, and he’s not aggressive,” Frye said flat out. He even called out Allen’s apparent lack of an enforcer mentality: “But you know what bothered me the most about that series? Watch the film — when De’Andre Hunter got hit in the stomach, everyone ran over to him. Now go watch any little scuffle. Look at where Jarrett Allen is every time.”
Frye thinks the Cavs’ main man in the middle needs to get his hands dirty sometimes. “At some point, when you’re the biggest guy on your team — the main dude in the middle — you’ve got to rough someone up.” He even threw in a story about his own son not even noticing if Allen was still on the court – a hilariously brutal way to talk about a player’s impact, or lack thereof.
Of course, the Cavs’ President of Basketball Operations, Koby Altman, had to step up and say something. In his end-of-season presser, Altman tried to cool things down a bit, taking a more supportive line on Allen’s future. When he got hit with those questions about Allen’s toughness, Altman defended his guy: “You have to have some toughness to play 82 games… To play every single playoff game, 91 games for the season… Jarrett remains incredibly important to us. We’re not a 64-win, one seed without him. I think this is part of his story.” That’s a GM backing his player, pointing to the long haul of the regular season.
But even Altman had to admit that Allen needs to find another level when the games really count. “Jarrett is an easy target, right? Let’s point to Jarrett in Game 5,” Altman said, before adding, “When he wasn’t his best, I think he’d be the first to tell you that in that space, that’s where you need to elevate your level. But we all kinda did. We all need that mental toughness to get Game 5 at home and force the series back to Indy.” So, yeah, Altman’s got his center’s back, but he’s also putting it on Allen – and the whole squad – to be better when it’s win-or-go-home time.
“Where Was He?!” Frye’s question looms—times Jarrett Allen vanished when Cavs needed him most
Channing Frye hitting us with that “Yo, where are you?” about Jarrett Allen in big playoff games? That question is just hanging out there, making every Cavs fan a little uneasy. Let’s be real. Allen is a monster during the regular season. He was an All-Star in 2022, the dude is a walking double-double, and he’s crazy efficient around the basket. Altman isn’t wrong; the Cavs don’t win 64 games and snag the top seed without him. But the playoffs, man, that’s a whole different animal, and that’s where the story around Allen gets a little… complicated.
Take this Pacers series, especially that Game 5 when their season was on the line. Allen ended up with just nine points and four rebounds. For your starting center, a guy you’re counting on to be a cornerstone in an elimination game, just a 9-4 stat line in 30 minutes? That’s just not getting it done, period. And it’s not like this is the first time. This is the second time in three years Allen’s playoff production hasn’t really matched what he does from October to April (and remember, he missed one postseason with that rib injury).
Go back to the 2023 playoffs against the Knicks – a series where the Cavs got absolutely bullied physically. Allen averaged a respectable 9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds with a brilliant 61.1% field goal, but in that final Game 5 loss? A bunch of 4s across the scoreboard (4 points, rebounds, and assists). Those are the exact moments Frye is talking about – when your team desperately needs that big man in the middle to be a force, an enforcer, and it just feels like Allen isn’t making his presence felt. Daryl Ruiter over at 92.3 The Fan was even more blunt, saying, “I would trade Jarrett Allen tomorrow, if I could; Cavs need more guys with ‘killer mentality’.”
Mar 14, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) drives to the basket in the 3rd quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Memphis Grizzlies game at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Smith-Imagn Images
So, what’s all this mean for Jarrett Allen’s future in Cleveland? It’s a mess, honestly. The Cavs are about to hit that “second apron” with their payroll, which is NBA nerd talk for “it’s going to be really, really hard to make trades and add players.” Moving Allen and his $20 million-a-year contract could be one of the only ways they can get some flexibility to either rebalance the roster or just save some cash.
Maybe they try to find a big who brings more of that playoff fire Frye was talking about, or maybe they do what Davies suggested and just hand the keys to Mobley at the five and try to build a more modern, spaced-out offense around him. You’re already hearing trade rumors about Allen and even Darius Garland.
Koby Altman is saying all the right things publicly, backing his guy. But Frye’s unfiltered take, now getting echoed by local voices, has definitely hit a real nerve with frustrated Cavs fans. That question – “Where was he?” – it’s not just about a couple of quiet playoff games anymore. This is a question he’s going to have to answer, loud and clear, if he wants to stick around in Cleveland for the long haul.
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