Fans inside Rocket Arena gave a rousing Cleveland welcome to Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis when they came off the bench Feb. 11 midway through the first quarter to replace Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill in the game with the Wizards.

Twelve days earlier, Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman traded De’Andre Hunter to the Kings for Schroder and Ellis.

The Hunter trade, along with the franchise-altering trade of Darius Garland to the Clippers for James Harden, makes the Cavaliers better. Fans sense it. The players sense it.

Hunter, for whatever reason, was not a good fit with the Cavaliers. Ellis and Schroder have a renewed sense of purpose. The Kings, 12-44, have the worst record in the NBA. The Cavaliers, by contrast, are the hottest team in the league with 10 wins in their last 11 games.

“I’m a winner. I try to win,” Schroder after scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds against the Wizards in his first game in Cleveland as a Cavalier. “It’s tough when it’s not going your way.

“You try to work hard every single day. Not winning games (in Sacramento) was so tough for me. Waking up, going to practice (was difficult) because (winning) wasn’t really the focus, myself included. But that’s over with. To be on this side when you play very single game to win excites me.”

But something else happens when a player with a family is traded. He is uprooted from his home and shipped to another city like a package from Amazon.

Schroder and his wife, Ellen, have three young children — sons Dennis Jr. and Amari (3 years old) plus daughter Imalia (5). Dennis Jr. turned 7 on the same day his dad was playing against the Wizards 2,375 miles away from home.

One of the first things Schroder the elder did in his postgame news conference was lament missing his son’s birthday party. Fortunately for both, the game with the Wizards was the last for the Cavaliers before the All-Star break.

“To miss my son’s birthday, that can’t happen,” Schroder said. “Family, to me, is everything. Basketball is my job and I take it seriously, but family always comes first.

“I try to live by it. I don’t want to just say it. That’s the reason I’m traveling to Sacramento tomorrow (Feb. 12) to make sure I have some time with my kids and my beautiful wife and make sure we have some good days. Then I’ll come back (to Cleveland) on the 16th and then it’s go-time and try to make something special here.”

Being separated from his family is not new to Schroder. The 32-year-old 6-foot-1 point guard played for 10 teams prior to being traded to Cleveland. After Dennis Jr. was born on Feb. 11, 2019, Schroder played for the Thunder, Lakers, Celtics, Rockets, Lakers again, Raptors, Nets, Warriors and Pistons prior to being traded by the Pistons to the Kings on July 7, 2025.

Just so there is no misconception, Schroder is very happy to be playing for the Cavaliers.