The overwhelming reaction to the De'Andre Hunter trade that went down on Saturday night was that the Cleveland Cavaliers got the better of the Sacramento Kings, who have been known to have no idea what they're doing from a front office standpoint.
Cleveland was able to move $48.2 million of salary represented by a player they didn't need (Hunter), thereby clearing approximately $51 million off their books in salary plus tax penalties. The Cavs also added two valuable rotational pieces in Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
And the Kings? Well, they continue to look foolish.
Cavaliers become latest team to take advantage of Kings front office
Why wasn't Sacramento ultimately able to snag a first-round draft pick in a deal for the coveted Ellis? The Athletic's Sam Amick provided some intel in this regard, noting that, in recent days, the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and Minnesota Timberwolves all backed out of Ellis talks with Sacramento.
Even so, it's hard to believe that the Kings front office wouldn't have been able to find a more fruitful return for Ellis and Schroder than Hunter, who is shooting 31 percent from 3 this season, by the way. Maybe the Kings haven't been watching much Cavaliers basketball.
Another question is, why wouldn't the Kings just keep Ellis this season and/or extend him if they couldn't find an overwhelmingly advantageous offer? In other words, once the Celtics and others stopped calling, Sacramento should have just recalibrated and thought, 'Let's not trade Ellis just to trade him. He's a 26-year-old asset who can help us moving forward.'
Of course, the Kings, being the Kings, didn't approach the situation that way. This Hunter trade looks like a deal Sacramento would be doing if they were in a situation where they had to trade Ellis. That wasn't the case in the slightest.
The Cavaliers couldn't care less. They just added an awesome two-way guard/wing hybrid in Ellis, who will immediately inject them with more energy on both sides of the court. There's a reason Ellis was sought after by contenders like Boston and Minnesota.
Don't sleep on the Schroder acquisition, either. He's a proven scorer who has the talent to keep the Cavs offense afloat when Donovan Mitchell is resting, something that has been a major issue for the team in 2025-26. Cleveland's offensive rating plummets nine points when Mitchell is on the bench.
No one's really sure what the Kings were doing here, but they've become oddly predictable in their inadequacy.