Analyst Exposes Glaring Cavaliers Error at NBA Trade Deadline

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have made a big mistake at the NBA trade deadline.

Jan 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers did ultimately swing a significant move at the NBA trade deadline, acquiring forward De'Andre Hunter in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

It was definitely a nice trade for the Cavaliers, as Hunter will provide them with some solid scoring and more size to defend some of the bigger wings in the league. That's all well and good.

However, Cleveland did neglect to address one other prominent area of need before Feb. 6: its frontcourt. The Cavs absolutely lack frontcourt depth behind Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and Spencer See of ClutchPoints feels that was a major oversight on their part.

"In fact, the next true center on Cleveland's bench is Tristan Thompson," See wrote. "Thompson was the team's starting center for the Cavaliers' historic 2016 NBA championship run. However, it's been nearly nine years since then and there's no doubt that the Canadian big man is way past his prime."

See added that Dean Wade's injury history should have also given the Cavaliers pause, which is another reason why he feels Cleveland should have gone harder after another big man at the deadline.

Of course, there was only so much the Cavs could do given the fact that they were trying to walk the fine line between improving the team while also remaining under the tax.

The Cavaliers did a masterful job of doing just that by acquiring Hunter, and it would have been difficult for them to acquire another impact player, as well.

Cleveland is 44-10 and is headed toward the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so its thin frontcourt depth has not been a major issue thus far. It could, however, pose problems for the Cavs in the playoffs.

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