The Cleveland Cavaliers Won The Day with the Trade for De'Andre Hunter

Well, that's a splash!

Photo via All-Pro Reels

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for small forward De’Andre Hunter on Thursday afternoon prior to the NBA’s trade deadline passing at 3 p.m. ET. The Cavs sent Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and draft compensation to the Atlanta Hawks to make the deal happen.

Hunter fills a need in Cleveland that has been in existence throughout the entire “Core Four” era¹. He’s a 6-foot-8 wing that can defend some of the better wings in the NBA, particularly a couple of All-Stars in Boston the Cavs might see in late-May.

Hunter is in his sixth NBA season out of the University of Virginia. He was selected fourth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, one pick ahead of Darius Garland. For his career, he’s averaged 14.8 points per game on 36.8 percent shooting from 3-point range. Hunter hasn’t developed into the type of player that a team would hope to grab fourth overall in a draft, but he’s become a terrific role player and a guy that can help the Cavs win right now.

This season has been Hunter’s best in Atlanta. He’s averaged 19 points per game while making a career-high 39.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. Hunter is also shooting De'Andre Hunter is shooting 39.3 percent on 5.2 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game this season. He's also shooting 47.1 percent on wide open 3s. Some of that credit goes to Atlanta’s Trae Young, who is one of the best creators in the NBA and leads the league in assists per game. Young’s burden of creation is pretty significant in Atlanta, and it will be interesting how much different things look for Hunter when playing alongside a less heliocentric creation system with Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Neither of those guys are quite at Young’s level in terms of passing, but they combine to exceed it. That combination could boost the quality of look that Hunter is receiving on the offensive end.