What's Next for the Kings After Trade With Cavaliers

The Sacramento Kings finally made a trade, and it has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least. The Kings agreed to trade Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to the Cleveland Cavaliers for De’Andre Hunter. In the trade, Dario Saric will also go to the Chicago Bulls, along with the low-level 2029 second-round pick the Kings acquired over the summer.

This is the type of trade Sacramento could have used when De’Aaron Fox was still on the roster, but now it might bring more questions than answers about the Kings’ future.

What This Trade Is In a Vacuum

On its own, this trade helped clear up the logjam at the guard spot and opened up two roster spots. One of those roster spots is expected to be used on Dylan Cardwell, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Converting Cardwell is a win for the franchise, though it seems implausible that this was the best available path to accomplishing that. Hunter is a fine player, but he can’t be classified as a young player, and it’s hard to imagine him factoring into the future much on a one-year deal.

Cavs turn Hunter's slot into backcourt depth and create $50 million in salary and tax savings this season. Kings receive an established 3-and-D wing under contract through 2027 at age of 28 and roster flexibility, including converting two-way Dylan Cardwell to a standard deal. https://t.co/JF9EapXYpk
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2026

While Hunter’s deal is shorter than Schroder’s by a year, Schroder is only guaranteed $4 million in his final year. Hunter also makes over $10 million more than Schroder next season, further clouding Sacramento’s financial future and putting them in danger of being a second apron and tax team, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

I won’t harp on the second-round pick going out because it’s not going to be very valuable in this case, but attaching Ellis to a player signed to a multi-year contract in the offseason only to take on salary doesn’t strike me as a great decision. Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but I believe there has to be more coming.

What’s Next For Sacramento

Even after converting Cardwell, Sacramento will have an open roster spot and no obvious two-way conversion to fill it. This could mean a few things, but the direction I lean toward is taking on multiple players in a subsequent trade.

For example, the Kings could now do a Domantas Sabonis deal with a team that needs a three-for-two construction to make it possible. The same could be said for a Malik Monk deal, which has been shopped the most by the Kings, according to Clutch Point’s Brett Siegel.

As for the Kings, they are not done operating before the trade deadline either.

Sacramento has made calls about Domantas Sabonis, as well as DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk over the last few weeks.

Of these three, Monk is the player the Kings have been shopping the most. https://t.co/8nu2Uogm1i
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) February 1, 2026

The interesting piece about a possible Monk trade is that the Minnesota Timberwolves have had interest, but it is nearly impossible without a three-for-one construction. While Cardwell has been confirmed to be taking one of the open roster spots, I believe the wording “after the deadline” by The Athletic’s Sam Amick is noteworthy.

This opens up the chance for a three-for-one move with the option to waive a player later on to convert Cardwell. You never know with the Kings, but it would be strange to send Saric out in this specific deal without having something else lined up.

For the Kings' part, the three-for-one nature of this deal opens up a full-time roster spot that will go to two-way big man Dylan Cardwell after the deadline, sources tell @TheAthletic

All the details on the deal, from all sides, here...https://t.co/1VOv65WUDb
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 1, 2026

The Kings also have some flexibility that comes with acquiring Hunter, who will be on an expiring deal next season. Sacramento could choose to flip Hunter over the summer, or they could look to trade him again before the deadline. It would be fair to point out the chance that there may not have been an issue moving Schroder over the summer, which makes this theory hold a little less water.

Still, Hunter is younger, will be a large expiring contract next season, and capable wings will always be in demand in the modern NBA.

So, Was This THAT Bad Of A Deal?

In reality, this deal wasn’t catastrophic, but it wasn’t great either. Fans who are particularly frustrated are fairly remembering that Perry chose to sign Schroder to a three-year contract over the summer and is now using an asset in Ellis just to move him just seven months later.

According to Amick, the Kings had “several suitors fall through in recent days and weeks,” for Keon Ellis and that very well may be the reason they felt inclined to pull the trigger. However, the Kings could have waited to see if there was a better offer for Ellis on his own.

The biggest sign that the Kings aren’t done is the fact that they are projected to be a tax team next year, and they have not been over the tax line since 2003. I am incredibly skeptical that they would be willing to pay the tax for a team that is still far from a playoff team, which provides some hope that another non-expiring contract will be moved eventually.

In the end, the trade will be looked at through the eyes of what other doors the Kings opened up and not how much Hunter contributes to winning. If adding salary and saving the Cavaliers money is all this trade accomplished, it’s a tough sell, but if it allows the Kings to truly start their rebuild, we may end up viewing it differently.

What This Trade Is In a Vacuum

What’s Next For Sacramento

So, Was This THAT Bad Of A Deal?

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