The Cleveland Cavaliers are have acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks, in response to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Cleveland will ship out Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two first-round swaps within the deal.
Hunter was the No. 4 total choose within the 2019 NBA Draft and landed in Atlanta on a draft night time commerce. A 6-foot-8 ahead who focuses on taking pictures, Hunter has averaged 14.8 factors for his profession and is having his finest season as an expert this 12 months at 19 factors per sport. That success is approaching a number of ranges offensively. He’s taking pictures a career-best 39.3% from 3-point vary this season whereas additionally setting career-highs in 2-point subject purpose share and free-throw price. Whereas Hunter’s protection has been inconsistent as an expert, he has good positional measurement and will be capable to slot in properly sufficient on a successful roster.
Cleveland clearly suits the invoice. At 41-10, the Cavaliers are firmly answerable for the No. 1 seed within the Japanese Convention, however they’ve been on the lookout for wing depth for years now. This season, they’ve largely cultivated it. They’re 30-5 with Dean Wade on the ground this season, however his historical past of accidents limits the quantity of minutes he can play. Isaac Okoro is their youthful, defensive-minded choice at small ahead, and Hunter could be the offensive aspect of that coin. With Max Strus additionally in place, Cleveland has a deep and versatile group of function gamers it could put in between Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
The Hawks, in the meantime, have cratered with star ahead Jalen Johnson sidelined for the rest of the season on account of damage. They’re 1-9 of their final 10 video games, and with Hunter now gone as properly, their as soon as stellar group of younger wings has been thinned dramatically. Dropping would not assist the Hawks, as San Antonio controls their first-round choose, however Hunter has two extra years left on his contract. This deal permits the Hawks to save cash there that may be redirected elsewhere.
An essential element of this deal is monetary. The Cavaliers have ducked the posh tax with this commerce. Contemplating how far more punitive the repeater tax turns into beginning subsequent season, delaying their tax clock mattered fairly a bit. As Cleveland is beneath the primary apron, the Cavaliers are free to signal anybody accessible on the buyout market in the event that they wish to discover extra depth.
The Cavaliers had been already the most effective workforce within the Japanese Convention, however they did not relaxation on the laurels on the commerce deadline. Now they’re even scarier because the playoffs strategy. Now, let’s grade this commerce for each side
Cavaliers: A-
The on-court price right here to Cleveland is minimal. Niang was inarguably the worst participant within the rotation recurrently, and his playoff struggles are well-known, so his absence will not imply a lot when the video games begin to actually depend. If something, the entrance workplace is sort of defending Kenny Atkinson from himself right here. He likes to run very deep rotations, so depriving him of a participant he would possibly use in conditions wherein he should not might be the proper name.
Dropping LeVert is a little more of a loss. A part of what has made Cleveland’s offense so lethal this season is its big selection of viable shot-creators. However within the playoffs, offenses are inclined to consolidate round their finest gamers. Did the Cavaliers really need LeVert main possessions that would have gone to Mitchell, Mobley or Garland? Most likely not. Actually, Ty Jerome has been a greater total reserve guard than LeVert this season, and this commerce is as a lot a vote of confidence in his efficiency as it’s an funding in Hunter.
Getting Hunter simply opens up much more lineup flexibility for the Cavaliers. Clearly, he’s a possible nearer alongside the 4 core gamers, and in moments wherein they want taking pictures, he’ll be a transparent candidate. However the extra fast profit right here is that he can play both ahead place. Whereas Wade can play energy ahead, he is additionally an important perimeter defender. With the ability to slide Hunter in at energy ahead subsequent to one of many massive males or small ahead with each of them is a reasonably helpful little bit of optionality.
Finally this commerce units the Cavaliers as much as both journey the recent hand or make choices primarily based on matchups within the playoffs. Wade, Hunter, Okoro, Strus and even Jerome are all viable closers in the proper conditions, and now Atkinson has a wide range of several types of perimeter gamers to select from primarily based on what postseason opponents current him with. To get a participant like Hunter with out sacrificing a first-round choose or an important a part of the rotation is an apparent win for them.
If there’s one nit to be picked right here, it is that the Cavaliers look awfully costly for subsequent season. With Hunter changing Niang on subsequent 12 months’s books, Cleveland is already bumping up towards the projected second apron earlier than even contemplating a brand new attainable deal for Jerome. Cleveland is sweet sufficient to justify paying the second apron, however shedding Jerome over the summer time would sting. At that time, LeVert’s absence could be a bit extra noticeable, however Cleveland can cope with the summer time when it arrives. For now, they’ve improved their roster with a reliable likelihood at a championship. That makes this a stellar commerce for them.
Hawks: D-
It is fully attainable that the San Antonio Spurs, who didn’t take part on this commerce, obtained extra worth out of it than the Hawks did. Why? As a result of San Antonio controls Atlanta’s subsequent three picks, and Hunter had been certainly one of their finest gamers this season. LeVert and Niang will play for them, however given how badly they’ve fallen aside with out Johnson, it simply appears like Atlanta’s choose goes to worsen and worse. The Hawks could have been uncomfortable with the 2 remaining years on Hunter’s contract, however having him round undeniably made them higher. In order that’s extra worth for San Antonio from a draft perspective. LeVert is on an expiring deal, whereas Niang has one 12 months left.
The primary-round swaps that the Hawks are getting right here aren’t very precious both. Cleveland’s 2026 and 2028 picks had been already owed to Utah by means of swap rights from the Donovan Mitchell commerce, so even when the Cavaliers fell aside within the close to future, it will be Utah, not Atlanta, that was set to capitalize. Second-round picks are good, however contemplating how properly Hunter was enjoying, they need to have not less than been in a position to extract rookie Jaylon Tyson, if not Cleveland’s 2031 first-round choose. The Hawks obtained neither.
It is a fairly clear cost-cutting maneuver on Atlanta’s half, and hey, on this new apron world we reside in, reducing prices could be more durable than it was. That does not imply they need to have sacrificed a Sixth Man of the Yr candidate on an affordable do for pennies on the greenback. The irony of that is that the Hawks did wind up taking again some longer-term cash of their subsequent commerce of Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland. Mann has three years and $47 million remaining on his deal and is having a reasonably disappointing season, whereas Bogdanovic has simply two years left on his deal, and the second is a workforce choice. If the Hawks managed their very own first-round picks, getting worse simply to avoid wasting a bit of cash would possibly make sense. Clearly, they do not, so this collection of strikes does little to enhance their on-court prospects.
