In a season full of gut punches, one of the more excruciating ones for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season was the complete ineffectiveness of De’Andre Hunter for the team.
When he was first brought in at the trade deadline in 2025, he was viewed as the missing piece on the wing for the Cavs. He had a solid playoff run, while also battling a thumb injury on his shooting hand, and had a strong offseason that had many within the Cleveland organization excited for what was ahead.
Instead, he was a negative on both ends of the floor throughout the 25-26 season, which forced the Cavs to trade him to the Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis. Schroder was expected to fill the void that Ty Jerome left with the second unit, but that never materialized.
It has now led to Cleveland having to make a crucial decision with Schroder, but it may now be a little easier after what happened on draft night.
The Cavs may have a little bit of an easier time moving Schroder this summer
Thanks to trading down from the 29th overall pick, Cleveland was able to pick up an extra second round pick from Sacramento. They now have two future seconds and obviously the pick swaps that they have thanks to the Donovan Mitchell trade a few years ago.
Schroder is set to make about $14 million next season and while that number isn’t huge, he did not play up to his salary last year. That said, he is still an effective role player, defends at a high level, and can be a nice change of pace option, all traits he showed with the Cavs last season.
However, given the team’s apron situation and the fact that they drafted Meleek Thomas, Schroder has become expendable. Trading him and attaching a second rounder to him for either another depth piece or just to clear salary would be the smart move for Cleveland.
Additionally, the last season of his deal is only partially guaranteed, which could also make moving him easier for the Cavs. Either way, there are avenues to move Schroder’s salary, Cleveland just has to pick one.
The core may be coming back for the Cavs, but that does not mean there won’t be changes this summer. Their supporting cast next season could look a lot different and if the team wants to take that next step to the NBA Finals, they are going to have to make some tough decisions and moves, starting with Schroder.
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