Cavaliers acquire De’Andre Hunter from Hawks for Caris Levert, Georges Niang

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertFebruary 08, 2025
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#nba #nba trade deadline #cleveland cavaliers #atlanta hawks

The Cleveland Cavaliers loaded up to aid in a title push. The Hawks reset their roster and cap sheet bit.

Here are the particulars:

Cleveland Cavaliers acquire: De’Andre Hunter

Atlanta Hawks acquire: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, right to swap 2026 first-round picks with the Cavaliers, right to swap 2028 first-round picks with the least favorable of Cavaliers and Jazz, 2027 Cavaliers second-round pick, 2029 Cavaliers second-round pick and 2031 Cavaliers second-round pick

Let’s dive in!

Cleveland Cavaliers

Incoming salary: $21.7 million in 2024-25

  • De’Andre Hunter (SF/PF, three years, $69.9 million)

Outgoing salary: $25.1 million in 2024-25

  • Caris LeVert (SG/SF, one year, $16.6 million)
  • Georges Niang (PF, two years, $16.7 million)

The Cavaliers are all in. De’Andre Hunter should be a terrific fit for the Cavaliers. He’ll likely start as the team’s small forward, but he’ll slide up and play plenty of small-ball power forward too. That’s the sort of versatility that Cleveland was lacking from their forward group.

Hunter has put together his best offensive season this year. He’s done well as a spot-up shooter, and in creating his own looks. Hunter has become a bit overrated as a defender, but he’s still solid on that end. He’ll give Cleveland more size to throw at the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby among their chief competitors in the Eastern Conference.

What makes this an all-in move is two-fold. Cleveland gave up most of their remaining draft capital in this deal. The Cavs traded away three seconds, while also giving Atlanta first-round swap rights in a couple of other years.

The other all-in component is on the cap sheet. The Cavaliers now have over $198 million in guaranteed salary for eight players on their books for next season. By the time they fill out the roster, Cleveland will have one of the most expensive teams in the NBA next season. That’s why ducking the luxury tax in this trade was important. That keeps the repeater clock from starting for one more year.

The Cavs did lose some on-ball playmaking in Caris LeVert, but they’ve got enough in reserve to cover for that with Ty Jerome and Craig Porter Jr. Georges Niang was a nice stretch-four for Cleveland, but Hunter and Dean Wade should be able to handle Niang’s role without much worry.

Cleveland does have a couple of roster spots to fill, so they’ll be active on the buyout market. Keep an eye on a backup center and possibly a veteran point guard.

The Cavaliers are right there in terms of being a title contender. They’ve had a terrific season to date, but there was still a sense they needed one more player to truly compete with Boston at the top of the conference. Now, Cleveland should feel good about their chances, no matter who they run into in the postseason.

Atlanta Hawks

Incoming salary: $25.1 million in 2024-25

  • Caris LeVert (SG/SF, one year, $16.6 million)
  • Georges Niang (PF, two years, $16.7 million)

Outgoing salary: $21.7 million in 2024-25

  • De’Andre Hunter (SF/PF, three years, $69.9 million)
  • Note: Atlanta also sent Cody Zeller’s $3.5 million contract to the Houston Rockets in a roster/salary clearing 

When you combine this move with their other deals, the Hawks really reset things with their roster and cap sheet. Moving De’Andre Hunter seems like a step backwards, but Atlanta got back players who can play.

Caris LeVert is a good scorer and ballhandler. With Jalen Johnson out for the season, Atlanta has really been struggling for shot creation outside of Trae Young. LeVert will help with that quite a bit. He’s not the defender Hunter is, but the Hawks defense wasn’t exactly their calling card with Hunter.

Niang is also a nice addition. Atlanta didn’t really have a stretch big on the roster. Niang should give them solid minutes beside Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela in the frontcourt.

In the Zeller salary-dump, the Hawks gave the Rockets back their 2028 second-round pick. That deal helped Atlanta clear a roster spot and to get under the tax. Considering Zeller never actually joined the Hawks after being a throw-in as part of the Dejounte Murray deal last summer, that’s not a loss.

On the cap sheet, Atlanta has cleaned things up considerably. Even though he’s played well this season, let’s not forget that a year ago many were suggesting that Hunter’s deal was a cap-clogger. Now, that’s gone.

The Hawks aren’t in line to have cap space next summer, but they should be well clear of the luxury tax. More importantly, in the summer of 2026, which is shaping up to potentially have a monster free agent class, Atlanta could be real players.

This trade might not make the Hawks better this season. But it probably won’t make them worse. And they added a lot of draft capital and cap flexibility for the future. That’s a win for a team that was very much stuck in the middle.

 


#nba #nba trade deadline #cleveland cavaliers #atlanta hawks
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