It’s not often the top teams make a significant trade at the deadline, especially teams with 41-10 record, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are determined to learn lessons from the past and build a team that can contend for a title. That meant consolidating some of their wing depth into a player they think is an upgrade for the postseason rotation, and on Thursday the Cavaliers acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks for Caris LeVert and Georges Niang (plus picks), per Shams Charania.
Cavaliers get: De’Andre Hunter
Hawks get: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second round picks, two pick swaps
Hunter is in the midst of a career year for the Hawks as their sixth-man, averaging 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 46.1/39.3/85.8 shooting splits. After spending the last two-plus seasons in trade rumors, Hunter finally gets moved and lands on the team with the East’s best record, where they will hope he provides them with the two-way wing they’ve been desperately searching for to complement their star quartet. If Hunter’s shooting improvement from the last two years sustains, he figures to be a very solid fit for the Cavs, but it’ll be interesting to see how they deploy him. He’s excelled in a sixth-man role in Atlanta this year, and Cleveland will have to figure out if he fits best in their starting group or if they should start Max Strus and have Hunter be first off the bench.
For the Hawks, they finally move off a player they’ve been long discussing in trade talks, and while they don’t get the first round pick back they hoped, they do get three seconds and a couple swaps (albeit ones that are unlikely to convey given the apparent stability in Cleveland). They also create some financial flexibility, which they care deeply about in Atlanta, by bringing in LeVert’s expiring and Niang with just one more year on his contract.