How the De’Andre Hunter Trade Impacts Cleveland Cavaliers' Cap Space

While Hunter is traded away, the major aspect of this deal is what it does for the Cavaliers' money situation moving forward.

Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'andre Hunter (12) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The NBA trade deadline has led to many mock trades or reported deals that could be taking place soon. The date of the deadline is Thursday, Feb. 5, and Cleveland is not waiting around to get any deals done.

It was reported last night that the Cavaliers have moved on from De’Andre Hunter after just one season with the team, trading him away to the Sacramento Kings. In return, the Cavs picked up Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis; the full trade also involved the Kings sending big man Dario Šarić to the Chicago Bulls with a couple of second-round draft picks, one from Cleveland.

This trade for Cleveland was a pretty obvious salary dump, as Hunter was in the third year of a four-year deal worth $90 million. His salary this season was $23.3 million, Ellis is on the final year of a three-year $5.1 million contract, while Schröder signed a three-year deal with the Kings at $44.4 million in the past offseason. 

Ellis and Schröder will be paid $16.4 million this season combined, saving the Cavs $6.9 million this year. According to Bobby Marks from ESPN, the move will save Cleveland $50 million in salary and luxury tax bills, and will drop its tax bill from $164 million to $120 million.

How the Cavs save money by trading Hunter

The key aspect of this trade is that it positions Cleveland to get under the second apron next season, as the Cavs are the only team in the league over that mark this year. Cleveland was paying their roster $221 million this year, about $14 million over the second apron mark of $207,824,000. While Ellis is in the final year of his contract, he is eligible to sign an extension worth $52 million over the next three years. 

Cleveland would have to either deal off Schröder’s salary of $14.1 million or Max Strus’s deal of $15.9 million to get under the second apron this year.

The penalties of being in the second apron involve not being able to use mid-level exceptions, aggregate salaries in a trade, send cash in trades, or trade first-round picks in the future (seven years out). The purpose of the second apron is to put restrictions on high-spending teams to not able to make moves that the rest of the NBA would be able to do, limiting their ability to get certain players or make certain trades.

This trade is a step in the right direction for Cleveland, although losing Hunter, who is a proven three-and-D guy, could be tough to swallow. Hunter seemed not to perform up to standards, averaging 14.0 points per game (lowest since 2021-22 season), shooting 42.3% from the floor (lowest since rookie season), and just 30.8% from three (lowest in career).

He was an expendable player that Cleveland used to save money this year and for the future.