With many trades come many opportunities for regret.
One thing that Koby Altman has never been afraid to do is execute a trade. Hardly a trade deadline or offseason goes by where he has not overhauled some portion of the Cleveland Cavaliers roster. Whether it's a blockbuster move for Donovan Mitchell or a minor cap arbitrage to move off of Lonzo Ball, Altman is making moves.
A side effect of such an approach is that Cleveland is setting itself up to watch former players bounce back and become valuable contributors once again in other places. Moving off of a struggling player makes sense until you have to watch him return to form and wonder if holding onto him would have been better.
With the Cavaliers making a number of trades or even allowing players to walk in free agency, there are plenty of players around the NBA poised to make Cleveland regret moving on from them.
No. 1: De'Andre Hunter, Sacramento Kings
The Cavaliers traded two rotation players and a handful of minor picks and swaps to land De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks. He was supposed to combine solid defense with high-volume shooting and scoring; the offensive version of what they now hope to have in Peyton Watson.
Hunter was terrible in Cleveland, and they were forced to sell low on him and dump him on the Sacramento Kings. If he enters the season fully healthy, he will have plenty of space to rediscover his jumper and rehabillitate his value. Given that the Cavs' return for Hunter fizzled into nothing, seeing him playing well elsewhere will hurt at least a little.
No. 2: Dennis Schroder, Charlotte Hornets
The Cavaliers salary-dumped Dennis Schroder to open up space to pay James Harden a major long-term contract. He played fine in Cleveland and now goes to a Hornets team that seems ripe to maximize his impact. If Schroder is conducting the offense and knocking down shots at a high level, and the Cavaliers are struggling to find a replacement between Craig Porter Jr. and Tyrese Proctor, they could easily regret dumping him.
No. 3: Darius Garland, Los Angeles Clippers
On a much larger level, the delta between Harden and Darius Garland will have a lot to say about the Cavaliers' emotional well-being this season. They gave up on the much younger and more dynamic Garland in favor of the healthier and steadier Harden. With the other stars in Clipperland cleared out, Garland could dominate this year on a bad Clippers team. If Harden shows his age and Garland is bombing away and averaging 28 points and 9 assists, it will hurt.
No. 4: Keon Ellis, Brooklyn Nets
The Cavaliers landed Keon Ellis as a part of the second De'Andre Hunter trade, and he was supposed to be the prize of the deal, a 3-and-D wing who could defend at the point of attack and knock down shots. The problem the Cavaliers ran into was that his slender frame limited his defensive assignments, and in the postseason he was excised from the rotation entirely.
He is now on the Brooklyn Nets, and while they have innumerable on-ball prospects, their collection of defenders on the wing is quite limited. That should give Ellis plenty of chances to assert himself in the league and become a valuable trade candidate. It would not be all that surprising for him to shoot 42 percent from deep, capably defend opposing guards, and be traded to a contender at the deadline. That would sting for the Cavs.
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