In the past two or three seasons, the Cavaliers ‘ record has gradually taken off, returning to the playoffs in the 2022-23 season and entering the second round in the 2023-24 season. After changing coaches this year, they even achieved the best record in the Eastern Conference. As a team ready to challenge the Eastern Conference championship or even the finals this year, they will definitely want to strengthen their team through mid-season trades. Therefore, they approached the Hawks before the trade deadline and traded for the Hawks’ excellent 3D wing De’Andre Hunter at a relatively low price.
Originally, the Cavaliers have not had a suitable player at the small forward position on the wing. Isaac Okoro, who was once highly expected, has not been developing smoothly since entering the NBA . Although he has good defense, his shooting is very unstable and cannot effectively help the team open up space. Considering that the Cavaliers’ two core tall men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are not stretch-type tall men who can score a lot of points on the perimeter, the team needs a small forward position that can provide high-quality perimeter shooting ability.
This season, Hunter averaged 6.9 shots per game and 39.3% three-point shooting for the Hawks. He is also a 36.9% quality shooter in his career. Although he has not grown into a lock-level player as expected on defense, he has enough size and speed to keep up with his defender, which is exactly the type of wing player the Cavaliers need.
Because the Cavaliers were already on the edge of the luxury tax before the trade this year and were very adamant about not wanting to increase salaries during the trade, the team eventually sent two main rotation players, Caris LeVert and Georges Niang, as well as the right to swap first-round picks in 2026 and 2028 to the Hawks. Although this deal filled the hole on the wing for the Cavaliers, it also reduced the strength and depth of the bench lineup. As to whether this decision was correct or not, we may have to wait until the end of the season to get a conclusion.
In any case, the Cavaliers have finally filled the wing position that they had been longing for in the past. What remains is to integrate their combat power and prepare to challenge various strong opponents in the playoffs, especially the defending champion Celtics. Although the Cavaliers’ record is first in the Eastern Conference this season, they still have more losses than wins against the Celtics. The only victory was won by Mitchell’s magical shot. It can be said that the team’s reinforcement is aimed at the Celtics in the playoffs.
Considering that the Hawks are still on the playoff list, they are not really sellers in the trading market. They are more like reorganizing their lineup. Although they traded Hunter, the team still has this year’s No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher at this position, which can be regarded as helping him clear more room to play and collecting a sign at the same time. As his experience increases and he adapts to the intensity of the NBA, Risacher should have the opportunity to become a more competent wing scorer than Hunter in the future. This is also the main reason why the Hawks are willing to complete this deal.
Considering that Hunter, who was traded, still has a two-year, $60 million contract in the future, and LeVert’s contract is expiring, Nion’s contract has only one year and $8.2 million left, plus the contracts of Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. are also about to expire, the Hawks can further lower the team salary and give the team more room to operate in the next offseason.
In summary, this deal is a win-win for both sides, especially the Cavaliers, who can strengthen their starting small forward without triggering the luxury tax, making them the winners of this deal. The Hawks have at least gotten rid of the salary burden for the next two years, having more room for operation, and helping No. 1 pick Rizah find a bigger space to play, which can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.
