Lauren Williams: Hawks, De'Andre Hunter both won trade deadline deal

Lauren Williams, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 8, 2025

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ATLANTA — Though it came as a surprise to some in February, the Hawks trading of wing De’Andre Hunter opened up potential for both parties.

The Hawks dealt Hunter to the Cavaliers in February for guard Caris LeVert, forward Georges Niang, as well as three second-round picks and two pick swaps. In making the move, the Hawks sold high on Hunter as he went through a career season.

Hunter, of course, helped the Hawks have a strong start to the season once he returned to the court after missing 11 of the first 15 games. With Hunter in the rotation, the Hawks went 18-19, including appearances in the semifinals of the NBA Cup.

The Hawks moved Hunter to the bench, allowing him to provide its second unit with a scoring and defensive punch. It allowed him to showcase his ability to provide a bench with electricity, which he’s been able to give to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In 27 games with the Cavaliers in the regular season, Hunter averaged 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists. In a new role with the Cavaliers, Hunter found more efficiency on a lower volume of shooting. He made close to 43% of his 3-point attempts.

The former Hawks forward helped the Cavaliers to finish first in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record, which included a 13-game win streak following the trade deadline.

Hunter has bolstered the Cavaliers bench with his ability to defend multiple positions and space the floor, while adding size to the wing. In five playoff games, he’s knocked down 60% of his shots from 3. In the Cavs’ Game 3 win over the Heat in the first round, the 27-year-old scored 21 points after picking apart the Heat’s defense.

The Cavs missed that shooting in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday against the Pacers, as Murray sat out with a thumb injury and Cleveland went down 2-0 in the series.

But in moving on from Hunter in exchange for LeVert (who is a free agent this summer) and Niang, the Hawks were able to open up some cap flexibility for the next few seasons. Hunter was just one season into a four-year, $90 million contract that he signed before the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The Hawks would have still owed Hunter $48.2 million in guaranteed salary.

Now, though, the Hawks have a little more room to negotiate with free agents, including LeVert. The Hawks hold LeVert’s Bird Rights, which would allow them to sign him to a contract that goes over the salary cap. The Hawks have $146.9 million guaranteed to the 11 players on the roster.

While the trade of Hunter may have initially raised eyebrows, it put the Hawks in a position to attack the offseason with some financial flexibility. It also put Hunter in a position to compete on a team contending in the playoffs.

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