The Cleveland Cavaliers are already 1-0 after dumping De'Andre Hunter in a trade to the Sacramento Kings. Their first game without him was a decisive 130-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. With a couple of nights until their next contest, reinforcements are on the way too.
Cleveland managed that win on Sunday without either Keon Ellis or Dennis Schroder, who were acquired in the trade return of shipping Hunter out of town. There is a chance the Cavs will have both available to play by the time they are facing the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Chris Fedor reported, "Plan is for newbies Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to meet the team in Los Angeles — the next stop on this current road trip. Other members of the organization — who were back home to start this trip working on trade stuff — are also en route to LA for this coming week. "
The middle of a road trip is far from the ideal circumstance to have two new players join the team on the fly. However, Schroder is a proven NBA veteran and Ellis is an easy plug-and-play with his skill set. One would imagine they get thrown in the fire pretty quickly with Kenny Atkinson's rotations.
Ellis and Schroder are expected to join the Cavaliers in Los Angeles
With the injury absences on Sunday, the Cavaliers had Craig Porter, Nae'Qwan Tomlin, Lonzo Ball, and Thomas Bryant all playing double-digit minutes off the bench. Even while learning new schemes on the fly, Schroder and Ellis should push two of those guys out immediately.
If Atkinson does not feature the two guards in the rotations right away on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the pair could play their first minutes in a Cavaliers jersey against their old team. Cleveland will battle the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
At the point of that game being played, the Cavaliers will have a good idea of what the final version of their roster looks like for the rest of the season, with the trade deadline passing on Feb. 5. Ellis and Schroder were both strong acquisitions, but it should surprise absolutely no one for more changes to be on the way.
It's unlikely that a bigger splash than these two is coming. However, it really does not need to. The Cavaliers did a masterful job turning a failed experiment into two quality players.
Ellis and Schroder are far from stars. However, both of them should be able to give Atkinson some valuable minutes once the NBA Playoffs arrive.