Koby Altman Breaks Silence: The Shocking Reason Behind the Cavs’ Sudden De’Andre Hunter Trade Revealed

Last night’s buzz around the NBA trade wire finally crystallized into reality, as the Cleveland Cavaliers executed a savvy three-team deal that tweaks their roster and financial landscape in compelling ways. This isn’t just another trade — it’s a strategic chess move featuring Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis joining the Cavs from Sacramento, while Emanuel Miller pulls in from Chicago. Meanwhile, De’Andre Hunter heads out to the Kings, and a second-round pick is funneled to the Bulls. To shake things up, Cleveland also parted ways with their 2022 second-round pick Luke Travers, clearing a space that could hint at bigger plans ahead. Koby Altman, the brains behind the Cavs’ basketball operations, weighed in on this maneuver, spotlighting its potential to deepen the team’s roster and broaden flexibility in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference. It’s not just about gameplay; financially, this move slices nearly $50 million off luxury cap payments — a figure that’s bound to catch the eye of ownership and open doors to future blockbuster pursuits. The real question now: how far can these moves push the Cavs as they eye the trade deadline? LEARN MORE

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made the three-team trade that broke late last night official. The Cavs acquired Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Sacremento Kings along with Emanuel Miller from the Chicago Bulls. In return, the Cavs shipped De’Andre Hunter to the Kings and a second-round pick to the Bulls. To make room for Ellis, the Cavs waived former second-round pick Luke Travers.

The team announced the news on Sunday afternoon, along with a statement from Koby Altman, the Cavs’ president of basketball operations.

The statement from Altman reads:

“After careful evaluation and a clearer view of the Eastern Conference landscape, we believe adding Dennis and Keon strengthens our depth, expands our flexibility, and positions us to keep building a Championship caliber team now and into the future. In a season defined by its parity, this move better aligns us for a deeper postseason run. I’m thankful as well to De’Andre, who made an immediate impact upon his arrival to Cleveland and represented the Cavaliers with class. We appreciate everything he did for us both on and off the court, and we wish him the best in Sacramento. We drafted Luke in 2022 and have seen his development improve each year and thank him for his contributions to the franchise.”

The most interesting part of this statement to me is that Altman mentioned that the trade “expands our flexibility.” The move saves the Cavs approximately $50 million in luxury cap payments this season. That is something that would undoubtedly interest the ownership group. However, it also got the Cavs closer to getting under the second-apron threshold. Cutting the money that they did makes it more viable for them to go big-game hunting if they wanted to.

We’ll see what other moves, if any, the Cavs make before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.