The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers could make a trade soon.
According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers are discussing a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavaliers could trade De'Andre Hunter to the Lakers for Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.
"We all know the complications for the Cavs when it comes to trades," Fedor said. "They can't aggregate salaries. They only have really one first-round draft pick that they can trade. They have to be like right on the number in terms of salary matching purposes.
"But my sources tell me that the Cavs and the Lakers have discussed a general framework surrounding De'Andre Hunter, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht and then bringing in a third team. Now look, there are third teams that could be helpful. Brooklyn has the lowest salary number of any team in the NBA. They might be a destination that is willing to take some salary.
"The Utah Jazz, they are 29th in salary in the NBA. They might be a destination that's willing to take some salary back. By the way, the team that the Cavs have traded with most frequently in the Koby Altman era is Utah and one of his best friends is Justin Zanik, an executive for the Utah Jazz."
The Cavaliers just beat the Lakers in Cleveland. Perhaps the two teams spoke about a trade behind the scenes at Rocket Arena.
Hunter is making $23.3 million this season. He's averaging 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 42.2% from the field, 30.9% from beyond the arc and 88.1% from the free-throw line.
Hachimura is making $18.3 million in the final year of his contract. He's averaging 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game while shooting 50.0% from the field, 43.3% from beyond the arc and 75.6% from the free-throw line.
Finally, Knecht is making $4 million. He's averaging 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game while shooting 44.2% from the field, 32.3% from beyond the arc and 68.8% from the free-throw line.
The Lakers traded Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets last season for Mark Williams. However, Los Angeles rescinded the trade because they grew concerned with Williams' medicals.
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is February 5 at 3 p.m. ET. It will be fascinating to see if the Cavaliers trade Hunter to the Lakers for Hachimura and Knecht.
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