De'Andre Hunter shuts down trade rumors from Cavaliers amid speculation

The Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves in trade talks yet again.

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the Cavaliers found themselves in headlines, with forward De'Andre Hunter at the forefront. Rumors began speculating that the 28-year-old had requested a trade out of The Land and wanted to get a fresh start elsewhere.

"Among the things I tend to squint skeptically at is when someone says ‘that guy wants out bad," Matt Moore, an NBA writer, reported. "NBA players do tend to have pretty good perspective that they make tens of millions to play basketball and that their worst situation is still pretty good.

"But there’s a lot of smoke around the idea that De'Andre Hunter, or at least his representation, would prefer he be somewhere else.”

Mock trades started floating around, Cleveland fans became frustrated with Hunter, and then, the questions started to be asked. Who did this report come from? What's the legitimacy of the claim?

Well, after less than 24 hours of the report being out, Moore went back on what he said, and then Hunter himself came out and shot down the claims that he was unhappy in Cleveland.

De’Andre Hunter clears the air on recent trade rumors 🚨

“I haven’t said a word about nothing to nobody. Not about wanting to be traded. Not about anything.

“… Why would I want to be traded? I’m happy here for real. … My time here has been great.”

(via @ChrisFedor) pic.twitter.com/JHKG17PkHu
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) January 14, 2026

Hunter cleared the air in an interview with Cleveland.com, saying that the rumors were completely false.

Hunter doesn't want to be traded

“I haven’t said a word about nothing to nobody. Not about wanting to be traded. Not about anything," Hunter said. “… Why would I want to be traded? I’m happy here for real. … My time here has been great.”

This season, Hunter's had his fair share of ups and downs, putting up similar numbers to 2024 but not showing many signs of growth. He's currently averaging 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 42.5% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc.

He's currently only putting up numbers of 0.4 points, 6.5% from the field and 12.3% from three-point range, less than he did last season. However, his game film has shown a lack of energy at times, and his hustle has been rocky.

Against the Utah Jazz on Monday, Jan. 12, the Cavaliers were dominated and Hunter looked rough. He put up two points and dished off three assists with no rebounds in 18 minutes of time on the floor.

Those types of spurts and issues have led to many questioning whether he's happy with where he's at right now and if he's no longer bought into Cleveland.

And maybe that's the reason the false rumor got so much traction in the first place.

Prior to Hunter's statement, which came out on Wednesday morning, Moore corrected his report on the Cavaliers forward.

"I screwed up pretty big here in that Hunter isn't repped by Klutch," Moore wrote. "I was under the mistaken impression that he was and it would have taken me 15 seconds to confirm, and I didn't, and that's my mistake. Hunter is under Thad Foucher at Wasserman, Gabe Vincent is with Bil Neff.

"What I had heard from multiple people is that a. the Cavs were looking at Hunter deals [and] b. Klutch was interested in getting one of their clients to Cleveland (where they have obviously long-standing connections). I made a jump in logic based on what I'd heard..."

The assumption isn't an outlandish one to take, but it certainly got the ball rolling on all the Hunter discussions that were had on Tuesday.

While it's nice to hear that Hunter wants to stay a member of the Cavaliers, he's got some work to do to keep himself out of internal trade discussions. Right now, the team is fighting for an Eastern Conference playoff spot as they sit towards the bottom of the standings, and guys like Hunter, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland are going to be the first names opposing teams inquire about.

Hunter's next chance to bounce back will be on Wednesday, Jan. 14, against the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. Tip-off between the two sides is set for 7:00 p.m.