The Cleveland Cavaliers are reminded once more that they gave up real assets to trade for De'Andre Hunter. With the NBA draft order set for every playoff team, the Cavs know that they will be sending the 23rd pick to the Atlanta Hawks.
When the Cavaliers traded for Hunter at the 2025 Trade Deadline, it was an aggressive move that made a lot of sense. They had a window to trade expiring money for long-term money, building up their rotation, and they have long searched for a combo forward with size.
De'Andre Hunter was terrible in Cleveland
Hunter fit the bill on paper, and his comfort level shooting 3-pointers seemed to lend itself well to Kenny Atkinson's system. Upon arriving in Cleveland, Hunter began bombing away, initially making the trade look like a steal and distracting from his inability to defend at even a league-average level.
In the playoffs, Hunter's shot stopped falling, his confidence sank into Lake Erie, and his defense was as bad as ever. Between injuries and Hunter's disappearing act, the Cavs were upset in the second round and sent home early.
Hunter didn't improve much to start this season, either, and the Cavs flipped him to the Sacramento Kings, the only team in the league out-of-touch enough to trade value for Hunter on his contract. Cleveland got back Keon Ellis, an intriguing two-way wing, and veteran point guard Dennis Schroder, who turns into a pumpkin if he's not wearing "Germany" across his chest.
The Cavaliers paid a price for their mistake
The Cavs did a decent job pivoting out of the Hunter debacle, but they still have to pay the piper. They have a pair of first-round pick swaps still outstanding from the trade, with the first swap coming in this year's draft. With Cleveland on track to be at the very top of the league once more, they traded swap rights on their pick for this year.
At the time of the trade, that seemed like a no-brainer, but the Cavaliers were worse than expected this season, while the San Antonio Spurs were the league's second-best team. Because the Spurs controlled the Hawks' pick, they were able to trade their way up to the Hawks' spot, while the Hawks could trade up to Cleveland's spot and force the Cavs down to 29th.
The NBA settled ties on Monday by way of coin flip, making it crystal clear where each team would slot in ahead of the NBA Draft Lottery next month. The Cavaliers "lost" the coin flip and fell to 23rd; they will send that pick to the Atlanta Hawks. Their trade cost them six spots - hardly the end of the world, but not a welcome development for a player who contributed little of value.
With college NIL drawing more and more players out of the draft and back to school, the drop-off in talent late in the first is significant. Those six spots could matter a lot when June rolls around -- as a swap could matter in 2028 as well.
The Cavaliers have a good team, currently up 2-0 in the first round and aiming for a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. At the same time, the league business rolls on, and another part of the cost to trade for De'Andre Hunter was just finalized.
It will be the Hawks, with pick 23, at the draft.
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