The NBA Trade Deadline shook things up for a lot of players on a lot of teams.
That is certainly true for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost two key players but in turn got a 6'8" sharpshooter hitting 56.7 of his 3-pointers since joining the team. De'Andre Hunter has lived up to the bill and then some since joining the team.
It is also true for the other 29 teams in the league, whether they are integrating a heliocentric triple-double machine like Luka Doncic or giving minutes to a newly-signed 14th man.
In particular, four former Cavaliers are in new homes after the Trade Deadline and seeing playing time for those new teams. Let's look at each player and identify their new role and see what the future looks like for them.
No. 4: Kevin Porter Jr., Milwaukee Bucks
Kevin Porter Jr. is a talented volume-scorer who has struggled to carve out a consistent place in the league because of character and off-court issues. The former Cavaliers first-round pick got another chance with the LA Clippers this season and was just traded at the deadline to the Milwaukee Bucks.
He got off to a hot start with the Bucks, but his role has pulled back now that they are healthier. He does appear to be a permanent fixture in the rotation, and with Bobby Portis suspended for most of the remainder of the season they may need his bench scoring.
Given that the Bucks appeared to target him specifically in a trade, it seems very possible he sticks around this summer, either by picking up his player option or agreeing to a new deal.
No. 3: Moses Brown, Dallas Mavericks
The consummate journeyman center, Moses Brown has played for seven teams in his six-year NBA career, but has not appeared in more than 43 games for any of them. He played for Cleveland in 2021-22, starting five of his 14 games for the team.
This year he spent time with the Indiana Pacers before he was waived as the team traded for Thomas Bryant, and hung around in the G League until the Dallas Mavericks signed him to a 10-day contract this past week, using the roster spot opened up in the Luka Doncic trade.
Brown was immediately pressed into service for two games as the Mavericks were without any healthy centers. Brown put up numbers as his usual stat-stuffing self, averaging 15.4 points and 18.9 rebounds per-36. In their two most recent games the Mavs pivoted to a no-center look and Brown didn't check in.
Brown has an excellent chance to stick around on the Mavericks for at least another 10-day deal, as their injured centers are not immediately ready to return. Perhaps this brief audition sets him up for a larger opportunity this summer.
No. 2: Georges Niang, Atlanta Hawks
Call him the Minivan, call him the G-Wagon, call him The Closer (an actual Basketball Reference nickname for Niang) but Georges Niang is a winning player who has been a consistent bench shooter, scorer and all-around hustle player for a number of good teams. The Cavaliers did not view trading him away lightly.
Trade him they did, however, and he is now proving his worth to the Atlanta Hawks. Niang is playing a whopping 27.9 minutes per game in seven appearances with the Hawks, coming off the bench but often closing games for a team that is both thin at forward and in need of veteran options.
He's not merely filling minutes but thriving in a Hawks uniform. Niang is taking 7.3 3-point attempts per game and hitting 43.1 of them, both career highs. He is averaging 14 points per game in Atlanta, by far a career-best, and adding 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a combined 1.3 steals and blocks -- all career highs.
The Hawks needed Niang, and he is stepping up. His role will change once Jalen Johnson is healthy next season, but he should continue to be a key rotation player for Atlanta the rest of this year and beyond.
No. 1: Caris LeVert, Atlanta Hawks
The best former Cavalier to change teams at the Trade Deadline was Caris LeVert, the centerpiece of the return for the Atlanta Hawks. He and Niang have paired together to turn the Hawks' bench from a liability to something of a strength, and three weeks in the deal looks like a win-win for both sides.
LeVert is averaging 27.7 minutes per game off the bench for the Hawks, filling more of a play finisher role than a playmaking and initiating role. He is taking more shots than he did in Cleveland but averaging fewer assists, and in particular is filling a defensive need for a Hawks team that is shaky behind Dyson Daniels.
It's not clear whether LeVert is a part of Atlanta's long-term plans or if he will sign with a new team this summer. Given that the Hawks have his Bird Rights they are probably the clubhouse leaders, and the role of "Sixth Man" opened up when they traded Bogdan Bogdanovic.