{"id":583975,"date":"2026-02-05T12:12:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/583975\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:12:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:12:29","slug":"deandre-hunter-describes-cavs-experience-after-kings-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/583975\/","title":{"rendered":"De\u2019Andre Hunter describes Cavs experience after Kings trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

De\u2019Andre Hunter describes Cavs experience after Kings trade<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking with the media on Tuesday, De\u2019Andre Hunter opened up on his experience with the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> after the Sacramento Kings<\/a> traded for him a few days ago.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was great,\u201d Hunter told SacTown Sports in a scrum<\/a> after the first practice with his new team. \u201cI enjoyed my time. I think it was a little short, but I definitely enjoyed it. It\u2019s a business. You\u2019ve just got to roll with the punches.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 70 games with Cleveland, Hunter averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in just under 26 minutes a night. He shot 44.5% from the floor with a 35.2% clip from long distance.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this season didn\u2019t work out the way either party intended it to when the Cavs traded for the 28-year-old forward at this time one year ago. It looked like Hunter was going to be a key cog right off the bat, nailing every triple in sight, breaking down opponents off the dribble, and covering a ton of space with his length defensively.<\/p>\n

After rolling in the Miami Heat series, Hunter broke his thumb against the Indiana Pacers on a hard foul from Bennedict Mathurin; he wasn\u2019t himself even when he played through it. This summer, the Cavs were adamant that Hunter would be the last piece of the puzzle in the starting five. His size, offensive ability, and physicality were thought to complement the Core Four, and Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson was adamant on getting to know him better in the offseason.<\/p>\n

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Following a star-like training camp, Hunter hurt his knee in the preseason finale against the Detroit Pistons and was behind the 8-ball. He missed the first two games of the season, then played 21 of the next 23 contests as a Cavs starter. After a rough December beginning, Atkinson and Hunter mutually decided it was best for him to come off the bench.<\/p>\n

Although the role adjustment paid off initially, Hunter just never found his rhythm, and his minute count was dipping. Besides the shot-making downturn, his turnovers and decision-making were unrecognizable. Atkinson felt it was because he played with different lineups featuring younger players that he didn\u2019t share the floor with last year. The emergence of Jaylon Tyson<\/a> and Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin likely had a part in Hunter\u2019s role changing as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hurt,\u201d Tyson said of learning about the trade. \u201cI was super close to Dre. He\u2019s like a brother to me now; almost a year it\u2019s been with him. He\u2019s a great player. Excited for him and his new journey, and hope everything goes well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cavs know that Hunter is better than what he showed, and Atkinson even admitted that it was circumstantial.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s my dawg. I love him,\u201d Cleveland All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said Sunday. \u201cWe all wish him the best, and he was a hell of a player for us, hell of a player in general. Sometimes, things happen. This is the business. He\u2019s a pro\u2019s pro. He understands it. He works his butt off. I have no doubt he\u2019s gonna continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our side, we work in the business,\u201d Jarrett Allen added. \u201cBut when you make these personal connections, it\u2019s always hard to see somebody that you\u2019ve been playing even a year with; that\u2019s a long time in the NBA. It\u2019s hard to see him go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a foul-heavy, nine-point debut for the Kings against the Memphis Grizzlies, Hunter feels good about coming into a Sacramento situation with good energy. With a clean slate, does he feel like he has something to prove?<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say to that extent, but I have my own expectations,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cI feel like my own expectations are higher than what anyone else expects of me, so I just try to hold myself to a standard, and I\u2019m usually good with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: NBA rumors: Evan Mobley could be key to Cavs\u2019 all-in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade push<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: New Cavs Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis make \u2018big\u2019 first comments after Kings trade<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"De\u2019Andre Hunter describes Cavs experience after Kings trade appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3792],"tags":[7,363,193,188,864,1235,126,1178,2286,3627,4056,177,189,30021,6,986,477,4055],"class_list":["post-583975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento-kings","tag-basketball","tag-bennedict-mathurin","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-detroit-pistons","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-hunter","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-jaylon-tyson","tag-kenny-atkinson","tag-kings","tag-memphis-grizzlies","tag-miami-heat","tag-naeqwan-tomlin","tag-nba","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-kings","tag-sacramentokings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116017964273010918","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583975","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=583975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}