The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have a lot of needs to address at the trade deadline.
They needed to find a big 3-and-D forward and find a way to get under the salary cap.
Notably, they managed to do so with a single move.
They traded Caris LeVert’s expiring contract, Georges Niang, along with several second-round picks and pick swaps to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for De’Andre Hunter.
Hunter fills all the boxes the Cavs were looking at from a basketball perspective.
He can score from all three levels and defend shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards.
He’s under contract for two more years.
That’s why Cavs analyst Evan Dammarell believes that they may have finally found their small forward.
He took to X to show the long list of players who had spent heavy minutes at the three for the Cavs since LeBron James left for the second time:
It is hugely important to drive home how important it is that the #Cavs might have found a permanent answer at small forward in De'Andre Hunter.
According to Cleaning the Glass, here's who has logged minutes at the position since LeBron James left town for a second time: pic.twitter.com/Bao3Qz0NAs
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) February 8, 2025
During that span, the Cavs had Ty Jerome, Taurean Prince, Sam Merrill, Rodney Hood, Patrick McCaw, Nik Stauskas, Mfiondu Kabengele, Max Strus, Matthew Mooney, Matthew Dellavedova, Lauri Markkanen, Luke Travers, Lamar Stevens, Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Korver, Kevin Love, Kevin Porter Jr., Jordan Clarkson, Justin Anderson, Jaylon Tayson, J.R. Smith, J.P. Macura, Jaron Blossomgame, Isaiah Mobley, Georges Niang, Isaac Okoro, Donovan Mitchell, Dylan Windler, Emoni Bates, Deng Adel, Dean Wade, Denzel Valentine, David Nwaba, Danny Green, Dante Exum, Damyean Dotson, Cedi Osman, Caris LeVert, Collin Sexton, Brodric Thomas, Alfonzo McKinnie, Brandon Knight, and Alec Burks.
This looks like the infamous Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback jersey.
Hopefully, they won’t have to add more names to this list for a very long time.
NEXT: Insider Reveals How De'Andre Hunter Will Impact The Cavs
