\n<\/p>\n
The NBA trade deadline season is officially underway, with the Cleveland Cavaliers moving forward De\u2019Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for guards Dennis Schr\u00f6der and Keon Ellis. This move is a bit of a head-scratcher, to say the least.<\/p>\n
Sacramento had a bit of a logjam at guard and cashed in some valuable assets for De\u2019Andre Hunter, who\u2019s been having a down year in Cleveland<\/a>. The Kings claim this is a \u201cwin-now\u201d move, but why in the world would they ever make a win-now move?<\/p>\n They\u2019re currently 12\u201338, good for dead last in the NBA. Also, I\u2019m not sure Hunter provides much in terms of winning basketball. The 3-and-D trend in basketball gives athletic wings more benefit of the doubt when a lot of players don\u2019t actually fit the mold. Hunter is not the defensive stopper that he was at Virginia. Not only is he a liability on defense, but he\u2019s also shooting a career-worst 30% from deep.<\/p>\n Once again, the Kings are making moves that feel terrible in the moment and will likely look horrible in hindsight<\/a>. The era of the \u201cLight the Beam\u201d Kings started in 2022, but those days feel like decades ago. They\u2019ve consistently made the wrong move at every turn.<\/p>\n First, they moved on from Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis. In the moment, that wasn\u2019t a bad trade. Sacramento was in desperate need of a big man, and De\u2019Aaron Fox was a Third Team All-NBA guard that same season. Unfortunately, they also traded Fox for Zach LaVine, one of the worst team players in the league. LaVine can fill a box score, but he doesn\u2019t play a style that contributes to winning hoops.<\/p>\n