The Cleveland Cavaliers remain comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with a record of 41-10, and many would have understood if the team decided to stand pat at the trade deadline.
Instead, the Cavs remained aggressive and acquired two-way wing De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two swaps.
As exciting as it is for this fanbase to land Hunter, losing LeVert hurts, and President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman recently said that a big reason why the team was able to move on from LeVert was due to Ty Jerome’s strong play, which has helped the team alleviate ball-handling pressure on Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
#Cavs POBO Koby Altman said that Ty Jerome's strong play this season played a part in the team moving from Caris LeVert since the team wants to alleviate ball-handling pressure on Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) February 7, 2025
LeVert was also in a contract year, while Hunter is signed through the 2024-25 season and two additional years, making this a more long-term strategy for the Cavs, who may have found the missing piece to their celebrated quartet of Mitchell, Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley.
Hunter is averaging a career-high 19 points per game off the bench, while LeVert’s minutes and scoring are the lowest they have been since he was a rookie, though he is still shooting an impressive 40.5 percent from three.
Altman’s point about Jerome’s breakout making this a sensible move is quite valid, as Jerome has put pressure on Kenny Atkinson throughout the year by averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 assists per game in only 18.9 minutes while also boasting impressive shooting splits of 52/43/89.
Losing LeVert hurts, but you have to give something good to get something good, and the team will be hoping that Hunter can be the missing piece this squad needs to get over the hump.
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