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Grades For De'Andre Hunter Deal Between Cavaliers, Kings, Bulls Ahead Of 2026 NBA Trade Deadline
Late Saturday, after that night's slate of games was completely wrapped, ESPN's Shams Charania broke news of a three-team trade involving the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls.
"The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis," Charania wrote. "The three-team deal includes the Chicago Bulls acquiring Kings forward Dario Saric and two future second-round picks."
It's not hard to see the motivation from Cleveland on this one. It just got significantly deeper in the backcourt. The Bulls shrewdly jumped in and got some future draft consideration. The motivations for Sacramento are a little harder to suss out, though.
We'll dig into all of that and more in the form of tried-and-true letter grades below.
Cavaliers: A
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If you want to nitpick Cleveland's return here, you might point out that 6'7" De'Andre Hunter is comfortably bigger than both Keon Ellis (6'4") and Dennis Schröder (6'1"). And over the years, trying to figure out who will log minutes at the 3 has been one of the more persistent questions about the Cavs.
Losing a player with typical wing size could eventually prove to be a bit of a problem. But let's face it, this is a clear and unequivocal win for the Cavs.
Hunter is shooting 30.8 percent from three this season. He offers little in the way of rebounding and playmaking. And Cleveland's net rating absolutely craters when he's on the floor.
Taking him out of the rotation and plugging in Ellis (a plus defender for years and a well-above-average three-point shooter for his career) and Schröder (an experienced heat-check guard) makes the Cavs more dynamic on both ends of the floor.
And, as if all of that wasn't enough, the combined salaries of the incoming players is less than Hunter's by itself. According to Charania, the deal is going to save Cleveland $50 million in salary and tax penalties.
From just about every angle, Cleveland's front office aced this deal.
Kings: D
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It's a lot harder to sell this one for the Kings.
Every move they make should be geared toward getting younger and collecting assets. This feels more like a win-now move to add a theoretical three-and-D wing to a veteran rotation long on volume scoring and short on defense.
It doesn't necessarily mean Sacramento is committed to the Zach LaVine-Domantas Sabonis-DeMar DeRozan core. It certainly shouldn't be. And Hunter's contract expiring after next season means it comes off the books earlier than Schröder's.
But Hunter might have to play a lot different as a King to generate much trade value between now and the 2027 deadline.
If, at some point in the next 12 months, Sacramento actually tips off a rebuild and turns Hunter into a prospect or some draft asset, this grade will look too harsh.
But that outcome is far from guaranteed.
Bulls: A
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This is a no-brainer for the Bulls, who reportedly waived Jevon Carter to be able to absorb Dario Šarić's expiring contract.
They took one end-of-the-bench player for another, but they're two second-round picks richer.
The chances of those turning into great NBA players are slim, but Chicago essentially got those outside chances for nothing.
This is just smart asset management for a middling team.
