Cavaliers-Kings-Bulls trade grades: Who won the De'Andre Hunter deal?
- - Cavaliers-Kings-Bulls trade grades: Who won the De'Andre Hunter deal?
Morten Stig JensenFebruary 2, 2026 at 12:37 AM
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In the dead of night, three NBA teams pulled off a trade.
De'Andre Hunter was sent from Cleveland to Sacramento, with Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis moving to Cleveland. To help facilitate the deal, Dario Šarić was traded to the Bulls, alongside two second-round selections.
Saturday night’s trade most certainly did not shake up the power dynamics of the league. Nevertheless, let's get into some trade grades on the deal:
Cleveland Cavaliers: B-
Schröder is fine, albeit unspectacular. The real get here is Ellis, a defensive menace who should immediately help Cleveland's secondary rotation.
The Cavaliers relinquished Hunter, a 6-foot-8 wing who can play both forward spots, which does cause some concern for a playoff run, as they'll now lack considerable size and offensive talent on the wing.
With Lonzo Ball struggling mightily this season, this deal helps the Cavs solve their backcourt issues, at least to a certain extent. But with the uncertainties of Ellis' contractual future, along with the loss of Hunter, I can't muster more than a "meh" for this one, until Ellis is sure to be kept around long-term.
Sacramento Kings: C
Hunter has, generally, been underrated throughout the course of his career, so while he should be an upgrade for the Kings, one has to wonder ... what's really the point here?
If the Kings felt as though they needed something for Ellis before he could leave them, then that makes some sense. But to commit future money to Hunter, when the team is open to starting over, seems odd and somewhat random.
This grade doesn't reflect Hunter as a player, but the Kings' plans.
Now, I will make the following caveat: If the Kings follow this move up by trading DeMar DeRozan before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, then that at least clears a spot for Hunter to play alongside Keegan Murray, which makes some sense, as an interchangeable combo-forward duo that is collectively cost-controlled.
So it's not — necessarily — all bad in Sacramento. But it's high time for the Kings to show us all of their plans, because everything still looks like a complete mess.
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Chicago Bulls: A+
Wait, what? The Bulls made a good trade? Hold up, I'm just checking to see if Greenland is suddenly spouting palm trees.
The organization took on the contract of Šarić, presumably using part of a Zach LaVine TPE (traded player exception) to take him on, and in return for facilitating this deal they acquired two second-round selections.
What will this cost the Bulls?
Not a damn thing. Šarić is an expiring contract, and the Bulls only had to waive Jevon Carter, who also is on an expiring contract anyway.
Given that they had plenty of room under the luxury tax to get this done, they essentially paid $5.4 million (Šarić's salary) for two seconds, which in today's NBA economy is perfectly reasonable, and they did it without relinquishing cash. Impressive work by the Bulls, who usually don't make this type of trade.
Source: “AOL Sports”
