Before the season started, it would have felt like a disaster for the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade De'Andre Hunter so quickly. One would have thought that does not happen without an absolute worst-case scenario during the campaign. The Cavs aren't quite at that level, but there may be reason to move him after all.
Matt Moore reported, "Among the things I tend to squint skeptically at is when someone says ‘that guy wants out bad.’ ... But there’s a lot of smoke around the idea that De'Andre Hunter, or at least his representation, would prefer he be somewhere else."
If Hunter is disgruntled, the Cavaliers should not second guess themselves in parting ways with the recently-acquired forward. There are a handful of reasons for them to not extend his stay in Cleveland if the two sides are not on the same page.
Trading De'Andre Hunter may already be the Cavaliers’ only logical move
Firstly, let's be open about the fact that Hunter has been absolutely disappointing in a Cavaliers jersey this season. His scoring efficiency has plummeted, dropping from a true shooting percentage of 63.4 post-deadline with the Cavs last year to a mark of 55.7 in this campaign.
Worse than the offense, Hunter has been a liability guarding opposing teams. His defensive rating of 115.9 is the second worst on the entire Cavaliers team. Only Darius Garland, at 118.1, has been worse than him in that regard.
Perhaps the rumored discontent points to why the performances have been so bad from Hunter. The Cavaliers have had an effort problem all year, and the former Atlanta Hawk has been right at the forefront of those issues.
All of this is a lot to swallow for a player earning the money that he is. Hunter is collecting $23.3 million in 2025-26. The former Sixth Man of the Year candidate will see that number climb to $24.9 million next season.
That is a price tag the Cavaliers cannot afford for a player who may not be giving everything he has towards a championship push in Cleveland. The Cavs have come up short of expectations thus far, and without those players pushing confidently back to contender status as a collective, the conversations for the franchise will grow even tougher in the offseason.
There could be win-now teams out there who are willing to alleviate the Cavaliers of Hunter's contract. If the Cavs forward really is unhappy in Cleveland, that is not a path the franchise should shy away from.