Cavs Refused Hawks 2 Players In Trade Deadline Deal

At the stroke of the midnight hour, DeAndre Hunter found himself freed from an Atlanta Hawks team that had been trying to trade him for years.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers as his new employer, the former fourth overall pick now has an opportunity to help a certified title-contender for the first time in his NBA career.

With that being said, while the Hawks have kept Hunters names in trade rumors since signing him to an extension , they may have found it particularly difficult to part with him this season.

Coming out of the gates firing, hes averaged a career-high 19.0 points per game in 2024-25.

As a result, Hunter was a prized player during this seasons trade deadline negotiations.

Considering how the Cavs traded two rotation players and three second-round picks for him, that might have been obvious.

Nevertheless, the package couldve been better.

The Hawks seem to know this as well.

I heard Atlanta pushed hard for Jaylon Tyson and/or Craig Porter Jr.

to be part of the deal , per cleveland.coms Terry Pluto.

The Cavs insisted they keep their young players, knowing they also need to build a roster for the future.

Cleveland.coms Chris Fedor makes note of the fact that the Hawks tried to acquire Clevelands 2031 first-round pick as well.

Cavs Refused Hawks 2 Young Players In DeAndre Hunter Trade Jaylon Tyson and Craig Porter Jr.

arent household names.

Yet, even if they werent both solid all-around players, it makes sense for the Hawks to have insisted upon their inclusion.

As a middling team for the past couple of seasons, Atlanta has been trying to determine the best pathway forward.

Thus far, its led them into a semi-rebuild.

Trae Young remains on the roster and Jalen Johnson signed a long-term extension in October.

However, the Hawks have traded away Hunter, Dejounte Murray , and Bogdan Bogdanovic over the past year.

All three were once deemed key to their playoff hopes.

The Hawks have also replaced Clint Capela with Onyeka Okongwu , betting on the boost his young legs can bring.

Because of the state of the franchise, players like Tyson and Porter both of whom are under 25 years old are instantly more attractive.

With that being said, Cleveland views Hunter as a prized piece of their championship puzzle, unlike Porter or Tyson.

As a result, the Hawks might have been better off playing hardball, as they had the leverage in negotations.

Instead, they accepted a pick-heavy package laced with veterans.

With that being said, Caris LeVert and Georges Niang can help Atlanta remain competitive but theres still a talent drop-off.

Hunter has undoubtedly been superior to both LeVert and Niang this season; more essential to his team.

Honestly, hes been better than Niang throughout his career.

A Performative Playoff Push The Hawks may put up the good fight in an effort to clinch a postseason berth, but it feels performative.

To that point, Atlanta didnt have much hope of making a deep playoff run before the trade deadline.

They seem to have even less of one now.

Porter or Tyson likely wouldnt have helped them any more than LeVert or Niang this season.

However, theyre players who are still in development mode, which makes them a long-term asset.

That cant be said of LeVert or Niang, who are both on the wrong side of 30.

Especially with LeVert on an expiring contract..

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