The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t expected to make a significant trade before the Feb. 5 deadline, but if they do, De’Andre Hunter is the most likely goner. The emergence of Jaylon Tyson, combined with De’Andre Hunter’s iffy fit and a $23.3 million cap hit, makes a trade logical for the Cavs.
Given Cleveland’s second apron status, they can’t take on more salary than they send out in a deal, nor can they aggregate salaries. As such, realistic Hunter trade ideas involve exchanging De’Andre for a player who makes a little bit less than him. Here are three such proposals that would make sense for Cleveland.
Caris LeVert leads 3 De’Andre Hunter trades the Cavs should consider
Caris LeVert, Detroit Pistons
Bring LeVert back to Cleveland! Caris isn’t getting the opportunities he deserves in Detroit. He’s averaging a career low this season in both minutes and points per game. We know that LeVert and Kenny Atkinson have familiarity with one another.
Meanwhile, Hunter might be a better fit for the hard-nosed Pistons because he’s a more physical player than LeVert and a more gritty defender. This is a trade that could benefit both teams, provided Detroit isn’t concerned with adding a little over $7 million to their salary sheet.
Cleveland sure would love to move off of Hunter’s $23.3 million this season and $24.9 million next season in exchange for LeVert’s $14.1 million (2025-26) and $14.8 million (2026-27) . To make the money work in this deal, the Cavs would also have to take on Isaac Jones’ expiring $2 million deal (not a problem).
Terance Mann and Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets
Unless the Nets are enamored with Hunter, it’s hard to imagine why they would do this. Still, it’s worth a call. Thomas’s microwave scoring would definitely help Cleveland’s bench for the rest of the season, and the Cavs could let him walk in free agency.
Mann is a versatile defender and excellent athlete who would also improve Cleveland’s depth. The fact that he’s under contract for two seasons beyond the present campaign is a turn-off, but at least he’s making substantially less per year than Hunter at $15.5 million this year and next, followed by $16 million in 2027-28.
Kevin Huerter, Chicago Bulls
Huerter’s expiring contract would make this a rental situation, which might be a foolish idea for the Cavs if they think Hunter can get them substantial value in another deal. Still, there are occasions when trading for a rental can give a team a leg up in that player’s forthcoming free agency.
If Cleveland thinks this could be the case with Huerter, trading for him might be a worthwhile risk. Huerter would be an awesome fit on this team moving forward due to his ability to stretch the floor.
You could argue that he’d be redundant with the Cavs already having wing shooters like Sam Merrill and Dean Wade. However, there’s a reason both Merrill and Wade have been effective on this roster.
Huerter is more athletic than both. If Cleveland traded for him and then re-signed him in the offseason to a deal more affordable than Max Strus' contract, they could trade Strus and establish further cap flexibility.
Wade is also a free agent after this season, by the way. Wing depth of Tyson, Huerter, and Merrill would be more than solid for the Cavs, and Cleveland could take a young, athletic wing in the 2026 draft to add to this.