CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cavaliers bolstered their roster by adding what they believe could be the missing piece to help them compete for an NBA championship this season prior to the NBA trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
Cleveland acquired forward De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Haws for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and a bunch of draft picks.
Atlanta will also receive three second round draft picks from the Cavs – 2027, 2029 and 2031 plus two second round pick swaps.
In 28 minutes per game this season Hunter is averaging 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals per game this season while shooting 46.1% from the field.
The 6-foot-8 Hunter should give the Cavs more size defending on the perimeter and allow them to better match up against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the playoffs.
LeVert, acquired by Cleveland from Indiana in February 2022, was averaging 10.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.9 steals in just under 24 minutes per game while shooting 45.3%, including 40.5% from 3, this season.
Niang averaged just under 21 minutes per game this season where he was tallying averages of 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists.