{"id":573222,"date":"2026-01-31T16:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/573222\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T16:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:26:18","slug":"cavaliers-emerging-as-threat-to-lakers-top-trade-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/573222\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers Emerging as Threat to Lakers\u2019 Top Trade Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you look beyond the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes, which inevitably includes a handful of contenders, the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have their sights set on a pretty specific trade target heading into the deadline. Sacramento Kings<\/a> wing Keon Ellis has been frequently linked to LeBron and Luka\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

But the Lakers aren\u2019t in a league of their own for Ellis. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype put it<\/a>, Ellis is \u201ccoveted\u201d by many teams around the league. He might not be star-caliber, but he\u2019s valued. The Lakers could surely use him, but LeBron\u2019s former team is making it difficult.<\/p>\n

\"KeonAre the Cavs Becoming the Favorites?<\/p>\n

The Kings and the Cavaliers have reportedly discussed a package that\u2019s headlined by Ellis.<\/p>\n

In the rumored deal, the Cavaliers would ship out De\u2019Andre Hunter in exchange for Ellis, Dennis Schroder, and Dario Saric. While talks ensued, and even included a mystery third team, the Cavaliers and the Kings haven\u2019t agreed to any terms.<\/p>\n

More NBA: Kevin Durant Makes Blunt Claim About Catching LeBron James<\/a><\/p>\n

For the Lakers, that\u2019s positive news. However, it\u2019s unclear if LA has any player of interest for the Kings at this time. <\/p>\n

Sacramento seems to like Hunter, who would command multiple players. If the Kings are looking to attach Dennis Schroder to any Ellis deal to move off the veteran guard\u2019s contract, you can guarantee the Lakers wouldn\u2019t be willing to take on that risk, as it\u2019s clear Schroder and Luka Doncic aren\u2019t on good terms.<\/p>\n

\"nbaDoes Hunter Make Sense for the Lakers?<\/p>\n

If the Lakers can\u2019t get Ellis out of a tough situation with the Kings, where do they pivot? According to Scotto, Rob Pelinka and the front office spoke with the Cavs about a potential deal for Hunter. It could start with a package of Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht, while including a third team. There doesn\u2019t seem to be a lot of steam there, but it\u2019s worth noting with the deadline coming up.<\/p>\n

This season, Hunter has started 23 out of 43 games for the Cavaliers. He is producing 14.0 points per game, while shooting 42 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. The veteran is averaging 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.<\/p>\n

The Lakers have an obvious desire to land a three-and-D guy. Ellis is on a team-friendly deal, but expects to be extended soon or else he\u2019ll hit unrestricted free agency next summer. Hunter comes at a heftier price for the next year and a half. This season, Hunter is making $23 million out of his four-year deal. Next year, he\u2019s guaranteed another $24.9 million, before becoming a free agent in 2027.<\/p>\n

For all the latest\u00a0NBA\u00a0<\/a>news and rumors, head over to\u00a0Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you look beyond the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes, which inevitably includes a handful of contenders, the Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,193,3211,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6,477],"class_list":{"0":"post-573222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","10":"tag-keon-ellis","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-la-lakers","13":"tag-lakers","14":"tag-lalakers","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-losangeleslakers","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-sacramento-kings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115990652675672865","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}