NBA Exec Drops Massive Take on Cavaliers' Big Deadline Trade

An NBA executive has revealed a significant take on the Cleveland Cavaliers' big move at the trade deadline.

Nov 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts beside Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers got their man at the NBA trade deadline, swinging a deal with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire De'Andre Hunter.

The Cavaliers sent Caris LeVert and some other pieces back to the Hawks in the trade, so this could definitely be viewed as a nice upgrade for the Cavs.

An NBA Western Conference executive definitely likes the move for the Cavaliers and thinks it could move the needle for them in terms of contending for a championship.

"They've been hunting size on the wing to match up with the Celtics and OKC and [other contenders]," the executive said, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. "If he stays healthy, he could be the missing piece."

Hunter is averaging 19 points and 3.9 rebounds over 28.8 minutes per game on 46.1/39.3/85.8 shooting splits this season.

As the exec noted, staying healthy has been a big issue for the former No. 4 overall pick throughout his NBA career, as he has never played 70 games in any individual campaign since entering the league in 2019. However, he has been able to stay on the floor this year.

The 27-year-old has not exactly lived up to his initial billing coming out of Virginia, but he was a solid role player for Atlanta and has the chance to forge a much-needed role for Cleveland.

Entering the season, one of the Cavs' biggest needs was a player to defend some of the bigger wings in the NBA, and they appear to have found that in Hunter.