Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroeder will head east. De'Andre Hunter arrives in exchange. Time to break it all down.
Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroeder spent Saturday hearing revolving NBA Trade Deadline chatter.
The Sacramento Kings chose not to wait until Feb. 5 to pull off a move.
Ellis and Schroeder will now head east in a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. De'Andre Hunter arrives as part of this move, with Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reporting the swap late Saturday night.
So who wins in the end here? Plus what type of impact will Hunter have on Sacramento in this scenario? It's time to dish out some grades here.
1. Do the Kings Win Here?
The emphatic answer is this -- absolutely not!
Doug Christie made this massive mistake before the trade: Not handing Ellis enough minutes. Then it became a battle between he and Malik Monk for bench minutes.
But all that showed was how disorganized Sacramento looked with handing the veteran minutes.
Schroeder was seldom used too -- even though he showed spark off the bench when called upon. But Ellis and Schroeder are leaving one mammoth mess behind.
2. Real Winners on Sacramento Side
That would be the duo getting traded away.
Ellis can now be used more effectively for a consistent playoff team. Cleveland -- especially Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley -- has a new perimeter defender to turn to now in Ellis. But he can add a catch-and-shoot presence from behind the arc, which the Cavs can greatly welcome when Mitchell or Mobley are heavily guarded.
Schroeder is another tenacious defender especially on the ball. But he's a capable high energy scorer who ignited the Kings' bench.
Ellis and Schroeder, lastly, leave a draft lottery team for a contender aspiring to make an NBA finals run in recent years.
3. How Can De'Andre Hunter Fit Here?
Don't expect the beam to light up for this trade.
Hunter's addition doesn't do much to excite this fan base. He's bringing more of a defensive stopper presence to one of the league's worst defenses. Although he's proven to be an effective mid-range scorer when called upon.
Still, Sacramento is dumping two of its top bench players for Hunter. This move clearly speaks to sending away two secretly disgruntled players on the Kings' side.
Cleveland makes a questionable move here in dealing away Hunter. He's fresh off scoring 17 and 19 points in his last two games and was averaging 14.0 points per game. This comes off like a low "C" grade for both sides.
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