It’s not often that you see a conference leader make a big move at the trade deadline, but the Cleveland Cavaliers bucked that trend.
The Cavs acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks for Caris LeVert, George Niang, three second-round picks, and two pick swaps. The two pick swaps were already part of the Donovan Mitchell trade in 2022, so Cleveland only gave up the second-round picks.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading forward De'Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two swaps, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/5fpE4LJzpK
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025
The Hawks get off of Hunter’s contract with this deal and, with their trade of Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers, are now under the luxury tax. LeVert is on an expiring deal and can audition for more money in the offseason, and Niang reunites with Quin Snyder and can be a veteran presence for a young Hawks team.
For the Cavs side of things, Hunter is in the midst of a career season, averaging points (19.0) and three-point percentage (39.1), becoming a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. He also has a true shooting percentage of 61.6 percent and makes 2.1 catch-and-shoot per game.
DeAndre Hunter fills the Cavaliers’ biggest weakness as they gear up for a postseason run.
The Cavs sit atop the East with a 41-10 record and are on track to get home court advantage in the playoffs, but in their losses, their lack of true wing players has been an issue, specifically against the Celtics and Thunder.
Outside of Dean Wade, most of Cleveland’s wing rotation was giving up a lot of size in matchups against big wings like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Williams, and others. In addition to that, the other end of the floor was an issue as well, as teams used their length to disrupt the Cavs’ free-flowing offense.
Hunter is 6’8” with a 7’2” wingspan and is in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. This is the best he has ever been as a shot creator, and his ability to play small and power forward will give Cleveland more lineup versatility. He can play with the quartet of Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen or slide to the four when the team wants to play with one big.
The only issue with this trade for the Cavs is the money. While they do duck the luxury tax this season with the trade and putting off their repeat offender clock until the 2028-29 season, Cleveland just got even more expensive starting next season.
Hunter is set to make $23M next year, and with the extensions of Garland and Mobley kicking in, the Cavs will have at least five players making more than $20M. They were headed in that direction anyway, but nonetheless a slight issue.
As for Atlanta, while they do duck the luxury tax as well, they can’t really tank because the Spurs own their first-round pick as part of the disastrous Dejounte Murray trade from 2022. Not being able to land a first-round pick for Hunter during his career season will be a tough pill to swallow for the Hawks. They do gain added flexibility for potential moves in the offseason to add next to Trae Young and Jalen Johnson.