Kings’ trade with Cavaliers shows a lack of foresight and direction

KANGZ!!!!!

Six months after not extending the deal of guard Keon Ellis so they could instead trade Jonas Valančiūnas for the carcass of Dario Šarić and give themselves enough cap space to overpay Dennis Schröder, the 12-38 Sacramento Kings traded all three of Schröder, Ellis and Šarić on Friday for Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter. They also gave up a second-round pick in 2029 for the privilege.

Completing the circle on only the second trade of the entire season (!), Cleveland then re-routed Šarić to Chicago and sent a 2027 second-round pick with the Kings’ pick to buy off the Bulls. Chicago needed to send minimal consideration to one of the other teams to legally complete the deal, and did so by sending two-way contract player Emanuel Miller to the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers then waived Luke Travers and his golden mullet to open a spot for Miller.

Hunter is a solid player who has had a subpar year in Cleveland. He fills a roster need as a forward with size, a glaring hole the Kings bizarrely failed to address in the offseason. He’s also signed for next season at $24.9 million, a figure generally considered on the rich side given his production and durability record. On a team that is allergic to attacking the rim, he adds another jump shooter.

As ever with Sacramento trades, the disappointment is less about the specific names involved than the overarching lack of strategy or forethought beyond next Tuesday. Sacramento, which by all rights should be rebuilding, put themselves on course to be over the luxury tax next season by adding a 28-year old with sore knees while giving up a 26-year-old whose next contract will likely be for half as much.

All this, of course, was necessary so that the Kings could part with Schröder, who has been a colossal disappointment on the first season of a three-year, $44 million deal (The final year is only partially guaranteed). Technically, this trade doesn’t seem so bad. But that’s only because of the multiple strategic blunders from the summer that were Ctrl-Z’d in the swap.

This coming summer, the Kings will be at or above the first apron (depending on where their first-round pick lands) unless they either waive DeMar DeRozan or make other trades to shed salary. This feels less like an orderly rebuild than an ongoing game of throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it randomly takes the form of a Picasso.

One other note: The Kings created a $5.4 million trade exception for Šarić, despite the deal being neutral money-wise. They now have two open roster spots and likely will sign productive 2-way big man Dylan Cardwell into one of them.

As for Cleveland, it was critical they unload some money given they have the league’s most expensive roster and didn’t have the results (29-21) to back it up. Turning Hunter into Schröder and Ellis cuts $7 million in payroll immediately, translating to more than $40 million in luxury tax savings, and could set the Cavs up to save even more with future moves.

For instance, adding Schröder should allow the Cavs to dump the $10 million salary of the disappointing Lonzo Ball, while adding a second roster player means they can do such a deal without taking another player back. Cleveland could also potentially trade a reserve big such as Thomas Bryant or Larry Nance Jr., then promote two-way Nae’Qwan Tomlin into the empty roster spot at a lower cap number. They could even re-route Schröder in a few days. (Don’t worry, Dennis is used to it.)

Remember, Cleveland already has a frozen 2032 first-round pick from clearing the second apron last year, and will have its 2033 pick frozen as well if it doesn’t cut at least $15 million more in salary this week. Cleveland also saved money against the 2026-27 second apron; the Cavs would need to duck it if they stay over the second apron this year, or their 2032 first-round pick will be permanently frozen at the back of the first round. On a related note, Cleveland also can create a trade exception worth nearly $7 million for Hunter but the Cavs can’t use it unless they get under the second apron.

Basketball-wise, while Hunter should shoot better than he has so far this year in Cleveland, second-year pro Jaylon Tyson had moved past him in the starting lineup, and the Cavs seem more comfortable with Dean Wade or even Tomlin in the backup 4 minutes behind Evan Mobley in their full-strength lineup. Schröder isn’t a starting-caliber player anymore, unless it’s a kung fu tournament against Luka Dončić, but if he stays, he’s better than Ball. Ellis, meanwhile, adds another 3-and-D guard who can soak up minutes while Darius Garland is out. The Cavs can also extend Ellis beginning Feb. 9, ahead of his potential free agency this summer.

As for the Bulls — irony alert! — Chicago is using the trade exception generated by last year’s deal of Zach LaVine to Sacramento to take on Šarić’s salary; the exception was set to expire in four days. Chicago needs to waive a player to complete the trade and will cut loose little-used guard Jevon Carter, who could help the right team with his shooting and ball pressure if he can play off the ball. (Dare I say that the Kings should consider signing him?).

Chicago is still nearly $8 million from the tax line and has its full nontaxpayer midlevel exception remaining, meaning the Bulls could potentially participate in yet another salary dump (maybe with the Kings!) before Thursday. They could waive Šarić to generate the needed roster spot; either way, this looks like the end of the line for the Croatian vet.